Love Resisted (The Real Love Series) (10 page)

“What do you want?”

“A date … with me. A real date.” Once again her smile faltered slightly as she looked at him, then over to the karaoke stage that had finally gone silent, then back to him. The fact that she was considering it filled him with hope—and maybe just a little irritation that she doubted he would do it. But that was something he could get over because it would lead him to victory.

“You want to go out on a date with me … if you sing karaoke tonight?”

More than anything
, he thought before saying, “That’s right.”

He watched as she continued to consider the wager, and then he saw light in her eyes. “Okay Lawson, I’ll go on a date with you,” she finally said, and he fought like hell to refrain from doing a premature victory dance because the look on her face told him she had something up her sleeve. So he waited for it.

“But I have conditions.” There it was—the catch.

Body tight with anticipation he said, “Name ‘
em.”

Still smiling, she said, “You have to sing one full song, beginning to end.”
Okay
, he thought,
no big deal
. Then she threw down what she must have thought was the smoking gun because she was practically gloating as she added, “And you have to get these three to sing back up for you.” She motioned to Jake, Jason, and Logan. She then sat back and smiled her victory smile.

Mike glanced over at the three men. He was pretty sure he could get Jake to do it, not so sure about Jason, but especially not Logan. He refused to go down without a fight, though. His eyes met Jake’s as he made a gesture that told Mike he was on board. Then he looked at Jason who was scowling at Allie, and Logan whose eyes were wide as he shook his head no.

“Deal!” he said, before standing up and leaning over the table in her direction. His face a mere few inches from hers, he whispered, “When the stakes are as good as this, I’d be a fool to back down, Baxter. Clear your schedule tomorrow night, ‘cause we’ve got a date.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Turning toward the men, who seemed entertained by Allie and Mike’s exchange, but also shocked that they were roped into something like this, Mike said, “Gentlemen, might I have a word with all of you?”

Jake got up and moved away from the table, giving his brother a shove in that direction. Logan was hesitant and looked at his sister before grumbling something and following after Jason and Jake. Once on the other side of the room, Mike joined them. “All right men, you heard her. I get a date if I sing a song with you guys as back up. Normally, I wouldn’t drag others into my wagers, but clearly I wasn’t the one who did.”

Jake huffed a laugh and motioned to Logan. “I’m pretty sure she did that because she knew her brother wouldn’t be caught dead doing something like this.” Mike swung his gaze over to Allie, who watched them from across the room carefully.

Looking back at the guys, Mike asked, “Well, Logan, you think that was her game?”

“I
know
that was her game. She knows my weak points, and this is definitely a weak point. You’re on your own, man.” Mike was about to dare Logan, and call him a pussy, when Jason beat him to it.

“Dude, don’t be such a girl. Allie basically dared you to fail; you gonna let her get away with that?”

“Okay, let’s just forget the fact that yes, my sister figured I would bail. She knows I hate this kind of shit. But do you guys realize you’re asking me to embarrass myself publicly?” Logan glared at Mike as he paused, obviously for dramatic effect. “… so that you could try and bang my little sister?”

Mike cringed a little. “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds pretty fucked up. But, dude, I’m not trying to just
bang
your sister …” He didn’t have to say anymore. There was no need to pour out his heart to this guy. He was either going to do it—or not. Mike just stared at Logan.

“Fuck!” Logan yelled as he stroked his hands through his hair and scowled at Mike some more. “You owe me, man,
big time. I don’t know what or where, but this is not cool, and I’m not gonna let you forget it.”

Mike let his shoulders sag in relief as he turned to make sure he had the okay from the other two. Both men nodded, although Jason wasn’t very enthusiastic about it. He leaned in, and the men developed a plan to not only get Allie to go on a date with him, but to knock her on her ass in the process.

ALLIE watched from her seat, across the room, as Mike huddled with the other guys. She had this in the bag. There was no way her brother would get up on stage and sing karaoke. Jake definitely would, Jason might, but Logan … no way in hell. She smiled when it looked like Logan was trying to defect. This was going to be fun to watch.

“You’re looking pretty smug over there, Al. What if he’s successful? You’re gonna have to go out on a date with your tall, handsome, and likeable neighbor.” Gillian chided from her perch next to Allie.

“Duh, I know that. But I’m not worried; Logan the party pooper is over there.”

Gillian snorted a laugh that had Allie doubting things for a moment. Looking over at her, Allie remarked, “Logan totally wouldn’t do something like this. His skin has to be crawling over there.”

Gillian just shrugged as she threw her feet up onto Allie’s lap and rubbed her tummy. “We’ll see.”

A noise from the microphone caught her attention and she glanced where the guys were,
or where they
had
been. Surprised, she turned toward the stage, and almost swallowed her own tongue. There stood Mike, and the guys, also known as her
former friends
, on stage. She quickly peeked over at Gillian, who was trying to contain her smile and laugh, but failed since her belly shook. This was really happening.
Oh shit!
Then she heard his voice, loud and clear over the sound system, and her body shot up straight in the chair. As if that would change what she was seeing.

“Good evening folks! I know what you’re all thinking—four big guys, up on the karaoke stage, there has to be a good reason for this uncommon event. Well, you see, there’s this girl …” Mike swung his gaze over to her and smiled. This, of course, had everyone who was paying attention to him turning to look at her. She was suddenly flooded with the desire to run, which wasn’t like her. He continued, “And well, she didn’t think I’d have the guts to get up here and sing for her. Let alone have backup singers.” His smile took on an evil quality as he pointed out that what she thought was her ace in the hole really wasn’t.
Oh my God, did he say he was going to ‘sing for her’ … this just got worse.

“So you can either sit back and tolerate the show, or ignore us completely for the next few minutes. But Allie, I’d pay attention if I were you, because not only do I have a point to prove, these stakes are totally worth it.” And then he winked at her—that infuriating wink he loved to throw at her when he was goading her. Even though it totally made him look sexy and completely confident, it was like poking the bear, and he knew it. This was not going to end well, she thought, just before the music and words hit her ears. “Oh … my … God.”

“
Gimme your, gimme your, gimme your attention baby. I gotta tell you a little somethin’ about yourself
…” Mike sang, a huge smile spread across his face when he saw her jaw drop. Mike could sing, holy shit could he sing. He was no Bruno Mars but … damn.

“
You’re wonderful, flawless, ooh you a sexy lady ... But you walk around here like you wanna be someone else
.”

Allie could only stare—wide eyed, gaping mouth, total body paralysis—as she listened to Mike Lawson sing to her from across the room. She couldn’t move, blink, or even think competently. Then the others chimed in with some background, “
Oh whoa-oh-oh
,” and Allie about fell off her chair. Beside her, Gillian let out a startled laugh, but she couldn’t tear her gaze from Mike, who happened to be staring straight at her as he sang.

“
Oh whoa-oh-oh, I know that you don’t know it, but you’re fine, so fine, fine, so fine … ooohh whoa … Girl I’m gonna show you when you’re mine, oh mine … Mine, oh mine
.”

He was really singing to her, and he was totally and completely sucking her in with it. She was entranced—unable to look away. She just took it all in. The other people in the room were totally enjoying the show and getting into it, too. There were a few people singing along, and a few others that were clapping the beat along with them. So when the main chorus came on and all of them sang it, she broke eye contact with Mike to watch the other three guys. Her brother, of all people, was singing. Or maybe he was lip-synching, you couldn’t tell, but he was up there all the same. Jake and Jason were too funny and had even added a little bounce to their shoulders as they totally got into the lyrics.

“
Treasure … that is what you are … honey you’re my golden star … you know you can make my wish come true … if you let me treasure you … if you let me treasure, oh oh oh
...”

It was completely surreal. She was finally able to look over at Gillian, who sat with the biggest smile on her face as she watched all of their men sing and move to the song. Gillian must have felt her looking at her and turned toward Allie, her eyes widened as she mouthed the words, “Oh my God.” She proceeded to fan herself like a total groupie falling for a rock star. The words of the song sank in, and she heard their meaning clearly.

“Pretty girl, pretty girl, pretty girl you should be smiling … a girl like you should never look so blue. You’re everything I see in my dreams, I wouldn’t say that to you if it wasn’t true. Oh whoa-oh-oh, I know that you don’t know it, but you’re fine, so fine, fine, so fine, Oh whoa-oh-oh … Oh girl I’m gonna show when you’re mine, oh mine … Mine, oh mine …”

Dragging her gaze away from Gillian and back up to the stage, she soaked it all in. She was basically being serenaded. The feeling of butterflies fluttered in her stomach, overwhelming her. She was nervous ‘
because she had nowhere to run and hide now. She threw down the gauntlet, and he accepted it. He took her conditions and made them his own. Allie was going out on a date with Mike Lawson. Was she okay with that? Would she be able to resist more of him if she did? Because she knew she was already having difficulty with all of that as it was. What would she do if she really allowed herself to fall victim to his charm.

“Treasure … that is what you are … honey you’re my golden star … you know you can make my wish come true, if you let me treasure you … if you let me treasure whoa-oh-oh-h-h-h …”

Who was she kidding? She knew what would happen—what was already happening. A small smile crept onto her face as she listened and watched the guys finish the song and thought how she might not mind being this man’s treasure.

CHAPTER TEN

“What the hell …” Allie was jolted out of sleep when she felt something hit her in the head. Rubbing her forehead, she felt something gritty, but couldn’t figure out what the hell it was. Sitting upright, she looked around her, but didn’t see anything, so she lay back down. She had just closed her eyes when something thumped against her cheek. The offending object rolled down next to her head as she sat back up and turned around to see what it was. Reaching out slowly, she picked up what appeared to be … a donut hole? A quick glance around the room told her she was alone, but her door was open. Slowly sliding her feet to the ground, she was a second away from standing when another donut came flying at her. Batting it away, she declared, “All right, that’s it!” and made a move toward the door.

She heard, “Abort mission! Abort!” as what looked like an entire box of donut holes came flying across the room. Then an empty pink box landed on the carpet as another voice yelled, “Retreat!” This was promptly followed by multiple sets of feet pounding down the hallway, accompanied by laughter. She took off after the noise, determined to take down the intruders. When her feet hit the hardwood floor outside the bedroom, she made more noise than she wanted to and tipped off her prey ‘cause she heard them bickering. “Get the hell out of my way, man, I am
not
taking the fall for this.”

“No way, man, I don’t need to run fast, just so long as I run faster than you!”

“The donuts were your idea, Jake!”

“Yeah, for her to eat, not throw at her while she was sleeping!”

There was a thud-like sound, and she heard hands fumbling for the door as she rounded the corner into her front room. Both Jake and Jonathan turned to look in her direction.

“Oh crap!” Jake said as Jonathan made a sound that was a cross between a laugh and a scream before pushing Jake.

“Hurry up, open the door!”

She just crossed her arms and watched them as they acted like she was going to skin them alive. A smile spread across her face as she fought to contain her laugh while the two of them continued their scramble to escape. Jonathan said, “Jake bought the donuts!”

Jake countered, “Jonathan was the one who threw them at you!”

There was no holding back her laughter as she continued to watch the two of them try to flee, so she let it out. Bent over, holding her stomach as she laughed out loud at Jake and Jonathan’s attempts to claw their way out of her condo, she knew she should probably be offended that they were that scared of her. But she recalled her conversation with Gillian the night before about how she had been a bitch lately. Sobering up, she stood and smiled
at them. They had stopped their escape attempts and were watching her cautiously. Jake said to Jonathan, “It’s a trap. Once we let our guard down, she’ll go in for the kill. Protect your junk, man.”

“I know, we should be worried, right?” Jonathan replied.

“Very.”

Interrupting them, she asked, “What’s with the wakeup call? I don’t remember ordering a donut
hole bombing.” Jake shoved Jonathan from behind at the mention of the donuts again.

“We were getting donuts when Mom sent a text telling us that we had to come over and get you. We were supposed to make sure you came over, no matter what, whether you liked it or not,” Jonathan said as he relaxed and took a small step forward.

“Oh really, and why didn’t she come retrieve me herself?” Allie asked, giving Jake a questioning look. “Is she restrained in bubble wrap this morning, Jake?”

Jake scowled at her, and Jonathan laughed as he looked back at Jake saying, “No, no bubble wrap, just lots of pillows. Or at least she was when we left to go to the gym.”

Jake rebutted, “Hey, the pillows are all her. She says she needs them ‘cause being shaped like a deformed pear makes it hard to get comfortable.”

Allie snorted a laugh. “Or she uses them to keep you from smothering her in her sleep.”

“Ha! I’ll have you know that I’m an intricate part of her sleeping needs. Between her shoulder and her back aching, I am constantly rubbing them. She needs me.”

Allie loved how protective and caring Jake was with Gillian, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to harass him about it. The whine in his voice proved that he had defended himself over this many times. “Of course she does,” she said in a condescending voice before asking, “So why am I being summoned so early on a Saturday, especially when I was with her just last night?”

Both of them shrugged as she remembered last night. Groaning, she said, “Oh God, she’s going to try and get me ready for my date? Seriously?”

Jake answered, “Hey,
its news to us. I got the text saying we were to come get you. And let’s face it, you know I always give my girl what she wants.”

Shaking her head as she turned and made her way to the bedroom to get ready, she announced, “Those damn donuts better all be cleaned up and accounted for before I get out of the shower, Jonathan.”

MIKE woke up at his usual time and went about his usual routine for a Saturday morning. He had gone on his run and was making breakfast when he heard her voice outside. “Let that be a lesson to you, Jonathan. Just ask your dad what I’ve done to him while he was sleeping.”

Making his way to the kitchen window, he caught a glimpse of Allie walking by with Jake and her nephew.
Jonathan was rubbing the back of his neck and looked to be in pain.

The young man said, “I’m afraid to ask, Auntie. I’ll just take your word for it and never throw donuts at you again.”

They were just out of his view when he heard her giggle and say, “I bet you won’t.”

Mike was smiling to himself over that confusing exchange when his son walked in the room, drawing his attention back to the breakfast he had started. “Hey Dad.”

“Good morning, son. Hungry?” Mike asked.

“Do you really have to ask?” Zane said with amusement.

“True. Well, diced ham and eggs are on the menu today. How ‘bout you start the toast and get some coffee brewing?”

“Sure thing, Dad.” They went about the task of getting breakfast ready, as they had for most mornings they were home together. It was a simple act that made him happy and sad at the same time. He was happy that the two of them had such a calm, close relationship, but then equally sad that it was only the two of them. He smiled to himself as he imagined Allie mixed in their morning routine, and how certain he was that it wouldn’t be such a calm setting anymore. And that was totally fine with him.

“Why are you in such a good mood today?” Zane asked.

Mike smiled bigger as he stirred the scrambled eggs in front of him and said, “I’ve got a date tonight.”

There was only silence—no movement or anything—so he looked over his shoulder. Zane was staring back at him with a grin. “She finally said yes?”

Mike couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his son’s face. “You could say that.”

“What does that even mean? Speak English, Dad.”

“It means I may have won it on a dare … or I guess a bet? I’m not even sure what to call it.”

Mike’s confused expression must have given Zane the wrong impression because he said, “Dude, Dad, you can’t go out on a date with a girl because you won a bet. That’s just weird.”

“No, it’s not like that. She didn’t believe that I would go up on stage and sing karaoke. So I asked her what she’d give me if I did. She asked what I wanted, and I told her a date.” Mike paused as he plated the eggs and ham and made his way over to the table with the food. Zane had just sat with the coffee and toast as Mike continued.

“She agreed to the terms, and I was ready to get up and sing when she added a condition to it.”

“Nice. She seems like the type that would negotiate her own terms.”
Zane stated with a nod as he began to eat.

Mike paused as he thought how interesting it was that his son had picked up on that trait in Allie. “Anyway … her terms were that I was to sing an entire song, and I had to have her brother, Jake, and Jason sing back up for me.”

Zane almost choked on his food when Mike told him that. Coughing harshly, the young man fought to control his spasming muscles as Mike patted his back and pushed his water toward him. Sitting back in his own chair, he watched as Zane regained his composure and ability to breathe. It took Mike a second to notice that his son had moved on from choking and coughing, to laughing. After a few moments, the laughter got louder as Zane pointed at him and said, “She turned you into a boy band!”

Zane’s laughter was infectious, and when Mike imagined what he must have looked like on that stage with the three other men, he started to laugh, too. “Oh my God, Dad, did anyone record it? What song did you sing? I have
got
to look this up online and see if there are any hits.”

“’Treasure’ by Bruno Mars,” Mike said as he watched Zane pull out his phone and start tapping away on it, presumably looking for a video. His son’s obvious excitement at
searching for a video of his dad singing lead in a boy band was amusing, but he had more important things to dwell on than
how
he got Allie to go on a date with him. Now he needed to focus on the actual date.

As he finished breakfast and pondered ideas of what to do and where to take her, he recalled Jake’s words last night—Allie didn’t do cliché—and what exactly that meant. A restaurant with a romantic atmosphere was out the question. Not that this was his usual and customary date-night agenda, but now that he knew he shouldn’t do that, it was all he could think about. Every thought of
where to go seemed to involve a location that could be classified as cliché.

Getting up from the table, he asked Zane, “You working today?”

“Yeah, I’m on the split shift today. So I won’t be home ‘til after eleven, but if I end up meeting the guys, I’ll let you know.”

“A text would be good,” he replied. Zane got up and placed his dishes in the dishwasher.

“Sure thing, Dad. Good luck tonight.” Mike had to shake his head at the smirk on his son’s face. Luck? He didn’t need luck. What he needed was a plan. Picking up his phone, he dialed the only person he thought could help him with this.

“Good morning.” Her chipper voice came across the line and he smiled.

“Good morning to you, too. You in the mood to help your big brother out today?”

Paige replied, “That really depends on what you need help with? I don’t help apply creams, and I certainly don’t want to check out something you think may need medical attention.”

Throwing his head back and laughing at that comment, he reassured his sister, “Nope, no questionable medical conditions or creams needed for this one, Paige.” He paused and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the noises his sister was going to make when he said, “I have a date tonight, and I need some advice.”

He quickly pulled the phone away from his ear the second the first squeal sounded. Giving it a few seconds, he allowed the noise to die down before putting the phone back to his ear to catch the coherent sounds his sister was now making. “Oh my God, is it her? Mike? Are you there? Tell me!”

He couldn’t help but laugh at his sister’s exuberant personality. “Yes, it’s with Allie. That’s why I need your help. I can’t screw this up.”

“Okay, well you’ve already gotten the whole birds and bees thing figured out, I hope. I mean, I’m sure it’s been a while but it’s like riding a bike. You just don’t forget. So what do you need from me?”

“God, Paige, do you have to make comments like that. I’d prefer to avoid conversation with you that involves anything having to do with the damn birds and bees.”

“I know,” she said in a singsong voice. “That’s exactly why I do it. So, tell me, what do you need help with?”

Trying to decide what to focus on with the date, he figured he’d just give Paige the basic concerning part. “I’ve been told that Allie hates cliché things. So when I try to think of where to take her tonight, all I can think of are restaurants that would definitely classify as exactly that. I can’t come up with something else. And are flowers cliché? What can I bring her, if not flowers?”

Shaking his head at how nervous he sounded about the date, he waited for his sister to respond. “I love how you sound nervous about this. You really like her, don’t you?”

Mike nodded his head as if his sister were in the room before saying, “Yeah, I really do. There’s just something about her; I can’t stop thinking about her. I really don’t want to mess this up.”

“All right, then let’s not let you mess it up. Time to brainstorm,” Paige declared.

After fifteen minutes of ideas and suggestions, and a brief lesson to teach him the difference between cliché and cheesy, he felt confident he had a good game plan for the evening. Now he just had to make the arrangements. Making his way to his office upstairs, he smiled, thinking of how excited he was about that night.

ALLIE made her way into Gillian’s room, only to find her in an awkward position attempting to secure her sandal around her ankle. It was hilarious and sad at the same time. “Well, if that isn’t the perfect visual for pregnancy prevention, I don’t know what is. Careful, you might sprain something doing that.”

Gillian looked up and let out her breath, a look of relief on her face as she said, “Help, please.” Allie smiled and made her way to the bed where she could do just that.