Holiday Sparks (4 page)

“If you have a pallet jack and a big bin I should be able to back up the truck and we can do it in one go.”

The guy looked as if he could bench-press him with a truck to spare, but when he grinned, his face transformed and he looked like a happy puppy. “Can do. I’m Petey.”

“I’m Ben.”

“Pleased to meet ya.” Petey scratched his head and replaced his hat. “You’re going to save Darcy’s bacon. Our boss is on a rampage for the store to be showroom-ready for the holiday weekend. Even has a Santa coming in to appease the kids as the parents shop.”

Ben loved Christmas but there was no way he was coming out after Thanksgiving in the mess of retail hell. He did most of his shopping online.

“Well, let’s see if we can get the store in fighting shape. I’ll pull around the truck.”

Ben backed in and the two of them unloaded his supplies in a few minutes. Petey jacked up the bin and pulled the crate in for him. “Miss Blackstone will freak if I let you do it. Store policy and all.”

“Ah.” Ben nodded agreeably and followed the burly man. He chattered on aimlessly and Ben listened with half an ear. He was already plotting the store makeover. And adding to his shopping list.

The department store wasn’t exactly on his top ten places to shop so he was unfamiliar with just how large it was. The Christmas tree dominated the front. Even without all the garlands and lights she was magnificent. Full and a deep green. Very much like Darcy’s eyes.

He frowned.

Not why he was here. He had a job to do, and he needed to keep his eye on the prize. Perfecting the display would go a long way in helping out his financial situation. The lights had started out as a bit of fun, but if he could get that moving maybe he’d actually be able to build his house fund again. He didn’t regret going into business with his best friend Cesar, but he hadn’t been prepared for just how much of a financial drain it could be. Especially when his partner preferred partying to worrying about overhead.

He came around the bend and the entirety of the registers and shoppers came into view. It was still early in the day but there were a few people shopping already. He spotted Darcy speaking to a coworker. The minute she realized he was there her entire body language changed. She actually stood taller, if that was possible. It was a novelty to have a woman be nearly the same height as him.

Made for a few interesting ideas.

And no.

No ideas.

As he watched her walk toward him, he decided a few ideas weren’t necessarily a bad thing. Her legs were distracting as hell. She had a loose-limbed grace that he rarely saw outside the models that frequented his shop. But without the arrogance.

And the pull he felt was annoying. She ate up the length of store between them. Slim navy pants made her legs look even longer. There wasn’t an ounce of gawkiness to Darcy Tucker. In fact, she had more curves than he’d originally thought. She hid under shapeless clothes most of the time.

“Thanks so much for coming, Mr. Hartley.”

“Considering you’ve seen me before my toothbrush, I think Ben will do.”

Her friend joined them and her eyebrows rose at his last statement. The silent conversation that ensued between Darcy and her coworker was fascinating. He had a feeling Darcy was going to have some explaining to do. And he decided he liked that she blushed and wouldn’t look him in the eye.

The little dark-haired woman peered up at him. “So, Gigantor. Are you going to fix our store?”

Ben smiled wide and held out his hand. “I’m sure going to try. You are…”

She blinked and shook his hand. Her dark eyes took in his tats. People couldn’t help but look. The bright red, green and blue ink was meant to attract attention. Cesar was a genius with ink and used him as a test subject to try out the brighter and deeper inks that were coming out. “Jaime.”

“Pleasure.” He clapped his hands together and both women pried their eyes away from his ink sleeve. “Now, where’s all my power? I’ve got work to do.”

Darcy kicked into action. Those long legs headed to the bare tree. “I see you have some materials already.”

He followed her over to the tree. Keeping his eyes at the back of her head was far more difficult than it should have been. “Yeah, just some foundational things. I’m going to need more. So what exactly can I get my hands on?”

Son of a bitch, he needed to stop thinking about his hands and this woman.

Intent on her body language, his chest tightened. Darcy linked her fingers together, her knuckles going white before her grip loosened. She tapped one thumbnail against the other. His girl was nervous.

“Right. Well, I—” she turned to him, “I just have to say one thing first. I really don’t know how I’m going to thank you, Ben. I can finesse a schedule tighter than a marine sergeant, but you ask me to do this and… Well, I’m just lost.”

Surprised that she’d own up to not being able to do something, he jammed his hands into his pockets. He didn’t want her thanks. The minute she mentioned the broken bike and ragey behavior, he’d had a really bad feeling. Blackstone’s was right around the corner from the shop his brother worked at. And just how many little girls had a bike injury out there right now? There had to be a few. It was a common thing for kids—he was just being paranoid.

His niece Brittany was the only thing that his brother John cared about. Add in his already dodgy behavior and it wouldn’t surprise him to find out his brother had done something stupid.

Now Ben just had to figure out a way to make sure John didn’t get into any more trouble.

He punched up the wattage of his smile, pleased to see a return bend to her distracting mouth. A little too pleased. She had a mouth made for a long, hot kissing session followed by a bottle of wine and a whole lot of sweaty foreplay. And damn if he didn’t like foreplay.

Foreplay and Darcy Tucker was not a good idea. He had to remember that.

“I’ll just put you down in the ‘you owe me one’ column and collect later.” Fucking hell. He was not going to collect later.

She tucked her hands into her sleeves. There sure must be something interesting about her shoes, because she kept staring at them. “Sounds good to me.”

He laughed. “That was a joke.”

“No, I pay what I owe. And this is business.”

“It’s a favor for a friend.”

She finally met his gaze. “We’re not friends.”

That only made him smile wider. “We could be if you did more than grunt at me on your way into your side of the house.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You’re no better.”

“We’re both to blame.”

She took a deep breath. He watched her consciously relax her shoulders and draw in two breaths. “I will be deeply in your debt if you pull this off.”

“Darlin’, there’s no if. This will be awesome.”

The corner of her mouth twitched. “Confident.”

“This is my element.”

“I seem to remember.”

He couldn’t stop grinning at her. “Let’s see if I can outdo our house.”

Her pupils dilated and her gaze dropped to his mouth. “My house.”

She certainly wouldn’t let him forget. “Your house,” he said with a shrug.

She took a step back. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Before she could disappear, he touched her arm. The softness of her sweater lured him closer. “What am I allowed to play with?”

She licked her lips. “Sorry?”

He quirked a brow. “What areas do you want me to work on besides the tree?”

“Right.” She cleared her throat and looked around. The front end was neat and tidy but as sterile as a doctor’s office. “The surrounding platform. The chair that will have Santa on it. And the checkout stations. Just make sure that the cashiers can move around easily and that customers won’t trip.”

“I’ll concentrate on the tree area and do the register stations after hours. What time do you close?”

“Oh.” She looked more than uncomfortable. He was going to impress the hell out of her and he couldn’t wait. “Nine.”

“Okay, I’ll work on the big stuff. I’ll need to go out for more supplies. Do you want me to bring you back lunch?”

“I—” She looked so surprised at such a simple kindness. There was no way a beautiful woman like her wouldn’t be used to male attention. It just couldn’t be possible.

“I have to get something for myself anyway,” he said, trying to alleviate whatever it was that wouldn’t let her ask for help. Knocking on his door must have really burned her ass.

“You don’t need to trouble yourself.”

“We’ll need to talk over the plan sometime. Might as well eat while we’re doing it.” Christ, what was it about her that made him want to push for more?
Not good, Hartley. Not good at all.

“I brought my lunch.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

She unearthed a small electronic tablet from a holster at her hip and hugged it to her chest. “If you need anything just flag me down. I’ll be running around most of the day.”

He nodded and moved to the bin. Petey had brought him up a ladder and a shaggy-haired man hovered along the sidelines. He was average in every way except the way he watched Darcy. That, Ben didn’t like.

At all.

Chapter Three

Darcy left Ben to work, but throughout the morning she kept finding excuses to go back and check on him. She found herself smiling when she caught him with ropes of lights around his neck and shoulders. His black t-shirt was faded to charcoal and didn’t quite stay down around his hips. Not when he kept reaching up to tuck lights in whatever strategic way he seemed to have devised.

A heavy black belt gripped his hips and somehow seemed to accentuate how tight he was. Everywhere. Smooth skin peeked above the belt. Even the little flashes of flesh were muscled. And a tiny corner of a tattoo peeked along his side.

It made her want to push up the shirt and see what it was. It looked like words. Just what sort of words would Ben Hartley have tattooed to his flesh forever? A woman’s name? A line of poetry? A sarcastic saying that fit his lightning-quick wit?

And he was tireless. He was up and down the ladder, painstakingly wrapping branches in some pattern only he seemed to know. Petey, their receiving manager, kept coming out to see the progress.

Ben seemed so at ease with everyone. He had Petey cracking jokes, Jaime bringing him bottles of water hourly, and every cashier that could get away from their register volunteering to help him.

Was he giving off some sort of special pheromone?

That had to be why she was just as pulled to him.

She forced herself to look back down at her schedule. The midshift was coming in. She had breaks to cover and Jaime needed to take her lunch. And she had to sit down with Ben and talk about the design.

“Where did you find him again, Ms. Tucker?”

Darcy looked up from her tablet at Miriam’s voice. The woman was a cat. “He’s my tenant.”

“I thought you lived in the suburbs?”

Darcy clicked off her screen and snapped it at her hip. “I do. I own a duplex.”

Miriam looked over at the tree, then back at her. Her lips were pinched and her ice-blue eyes were even cooler than usual. “How long did you say he’ll be here?”

“Is there a problem?” Darcy didn’t like her tone.

“He’s blocking the front end with all his…paraphernalia.”

Judicious as always, that was Miriam. Darcy bit back a sigh. “Actually he’s going to be here through the day and will be doing the big changes during the overnight.”

“He’s staying in the store all night?”

“He’s doing us a favor, Ms. Blackstone. I’m making myself available for whatever he needs. He’s only charging us for materials. Not his time or his expertise.”

Miriam’s shoulders went back and her spine stiffened. Even more than usual, and that was a miracle of anatomy. “I understand that, but he’s…”

Darcy tipped her head to the side. “He’s…” She wanted her to say it. All her life she’d had to deal with people like Miriam Blackstone. She’d had to fight for every promotion in this store because she’d come from nothing. Just because Ben had tattoos all down his arm and looked a little dangerous didn’t mean he wasn’t trustworthy.

For goodness’ sake, the man was the poster child for Christmas and easy smiles.

“I don’t know him,” Miriam finished. “You’ll be here with him all night and you’ll be responsible for anything that happens. I want this store perfect for tomorrow when my parents arrive.”

“Oh, it will be.”

“See that it is, and I’ll make sure my parents know you were the lead on the project.”

Darcy’s skin tingled and all the hairs on her arms stood up. No matter how much she hated Christmas, this was a perfect opportunity to show she could be assistant manager. Christmas was a marketing tool. Nothing more.

“You won’t be disappointed.”

“Since you’ll be here late, I’ll have Mr. Anderson take your morning shift. I want you here when my parents arrive at one o’clock.”

“Understood.”

“And, Ms. Tucker. I can’t stress how perfect this needs to be.”

Darcy nodded. She’d been looking for a way to prove herself and this was it. She hurried over to Ben, who’d shrugged on his jacket. On her way by she motioned to her watch and made the get out of here sign to Jaime. Her lead cashier waved her off and went back to the register. The woman was worse than she was about taking breaks. But Jaime was hourly and breaks were mandatory. Darcy was salaried.

Salaried in retail was tantamount to slave labor. She stopped beside the ladder. Ben stood above her and from this angle she could see more of the tattoo, but still not enough to read it. She seriously had to stop looking at him as if he were one of her dark-chocolate caramel swirl ice-cream bars. It was getting ridiculous.

“Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“You have your jacket on and you’re back on the ladder.”

He looked down, the corner of his lip tipped up in amusement. “You’re observant, Darcy. Did I ever tell you that?” He buried his arm into the limbs of the tree until his face disappeared into the foliage.

What the heck was he doing? Looking to take a sap sample? She rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you going out for supplies?”

“Yes ma’am. I just need to figure out how much more I need. This spruce is a big mother.” He climbed down quickly. The squeak of protest from the ancient ladder made her nervous. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man, but he was…well, strapping was a good word. Dense muscles flexed and flowed under his skin. His jeans hugged massive thighs.

Don’t think about his thighs.

“You’ve got lights wrapped around every branch. Is it going to be too much?”

“No, I need to manipulate each branch for the music.”

“How?”

He stepped down to the floor. He was so close she could feel the warmth of his skin and the tantalizing scent of pine and leather swirled around her. “Do you really want to know how I use channels and create the sectors that the music will be manipulated through?”

Wow. Vastly underestimating her neighbor’s prowess with electronics was going to get her into trouble. Bad boy look and brains to spare? Nope, not at all good for her peace of mind. “Engineering degree?”

“Nope, my degree is on the streets, darlin’. I learned everything I know from friends and acquaintances, with a side of trial and error.”

Her belly twisted. She knew all about on-the-job training instead of college, but for this kind of thing? She wasn’t sure it was a good idea. “This is going to work, right?”

He tapped the tip of her nose. “I’m going to blow you away.”

She folded her arms. “You’re a cocky one.”

“Nah. Just aim to impress the pretty girl.”

She could feel the heat of her cheeks. Damn fair skin. “I need Mr. and Mrs. Blackstone impressed, not me.”

“Yeah, but you’re the one I want to impress.” He clicked his boot heels together and gave her a snappy salute. “I’ll be back and you are going to sit down with me for at least twenty minutes and eat.”

“I’ll try.”

He cuffed her wrist with his forefinger and thumb. “It’s going to be a long night, Darcy. You’ll need your strength.”

Gosh, she hoped he couldn’t feel her pulse hammering away as though it were a rabbit on meth. One touch and she was a frazzled mess. And he was right. She needed her strength to get through the night. And dinner. “Is that offer still open?”

His lids lowered. The hooded look made her think of anything but the possible sandwich he was bringing back. “Which offer is that?”

“Food, Ben.”

The smile was slow and anything but innocent. “Of course.”

The entire night with him? She was so freaking screwed.

Oh yeah.

Screwed.

“I’m getting a sub from Lou’s. Want a hot or cold one?”

The Lean Cuisine she had stashed in the freezer for emergencies paled in comparison. “Meatball,” she said before she could stop herself. She should have asked for a salad or anything else but a sauce, meat and cheese explosion of garlic.

Her mouth watered at the thought. She rarely allowed herself to have takeout. It was just too expensive and she was saving to build a deck off the back of her house. She patted her pockets.

“I got it.”

“The least I can do is buy lunch.”

He nudged past her, giving her ponytail a yank. “I got it. If I can get you to sit with me for twenty minutes and talk it will be well worth it.”

“This isn’t a date.”

He threw a grin over his shoulder. “Oh darlin’, you’d know it if we were dating. You’d be smiling a helluva lot more.” He disappeared beyond the jewelry counter.

Her nails dug into her palms before she realized it.

“He’s right.” She turned to find Jaime beside her. “I bet you’d be smiling like that damn fish Dory that my daughter can’t stop watching.”

“Oh sure, that’s attractive. Dory’s the vapid, forgetful one, right? I think not. Besides, he’s too cocky. What the heck would I do with a guy like that?”

Jaime’s eyebrow rose. “If I have to explain it to you, then it’s been way too long.”

Darcy jammed her fisted hands under her arms. “He’s my tenant.”

“He’s smokin’ hot.”

“Looks aren’t everything, Jaime.”

“When he looks like that and is giving off signals that every tower in the next five towns can read? Yeah, that’s when you pounce. Like now. Or better, when the store’s closed and you’re alone.”

“There are cameras!”

“Not everywhere and you know where the blind spots are.”

“Jaime.”

“What? You think the bedding department hasn’t been violated six ways to Sunday? Please.”

“And that would be six of the many reasons why I wouldn’t do that.” Darcy shuddered. Working in a department store was never boring, that was for sure. How many times had she run people out of the dressing rooms? It might have been hot in the movies to make out in the little confined spaces but the reality of it? Ugh. Not so much.

Jaime lowered her voice. “You need someone to put you up against the wall and give you a good orgasm.”

Her eyes widened as she looked around. “You did not just say that.”

“I did. Look, my Michael may not look like the god of Christmas trees and ornaments but he knows how to make me scream. And you are overdue. Why don’t you just see what happens? If it doesn’t amount to anything, who cares?”

“I have to live next to him.”

“I know for a fact that you can pretend to like just about anyone, Darcy. You haven’t killed Gary yet.”

She tipped her head back. It wasn’t a good idea. At all. She tugged the sleeves of her sweater down, hiding her hands. “How about you go on break?”

Jaime sighed. “You can avoid it all you want, babes. But you know you’re interested. I’ve watched you watching him all day.”

“Nosy much?”

“Looking out for my girl,” Jaime corrected. “Have some fun. All you do is work and go home. What’s wrong with having a little fun with Christmas boy?”

“Because he’s Christmas boy. He loves it. I can’t stand it. I’ll strangle him with a string of lights when he tries to convince me to decorate at my house.”

Jaime laughed. “So you’re thinking about him in your house, huh?”

“Oh, shut up.”

* * * * *

Ben loaded the last of his purchases into the back of his truck. If he did this for real he’d have to look into buying in bulk. He’d made a pit stop at the computer store for another board. He’d modified one to run the lights at the house, but needed a bigger circuit board to control all the different strings of lights he’d needed to use at the store. The tree was fucking huge. And he’d need to play around with the program to make it work.

He’d made sure that each layer of lights on the tree was even so he could make a few different patterns. And because he was a glutton for punishment, he’d tagged a song out of his personal playlist. A non-holiday tune to make Darcy smile.

Masochist was the word of the day.

Christ, he went out of his way to get her to smile. How fucked was he? She was his landlord, for God’s sake. Hadn’t he learned anything with Jess? He’d done the roommates deal to save money and they’d broken every rule about being friends. Hell, they’d christened every room a dozen times. They couldn’t get enough of each other at first.

At first.

Then came reality. Living with a woman was hard. The compromises to live with a friend were hard enough. He’d had roommates for most of his life, but living with a woman and becoming intimate was completely different. Bad habits came out, shitty days couldn’t be ignored, and if he wanted to just work on sketches and be in his own space, he was the bad guy.

No.

This so wasn’t a good idea.

He slammed the tailgate.

Okay, so they technically lived separately. If he wanted time alone, he had a whole wall between them.

And that was idiocy talking.

A wall didn’t mean anything when two people were dating.

No woman he’d ever been with had known the meaning of personal space. And he couldn’t bear to disappoint someone he was involved with. Because he was an idiot. He was overthinking everything.