Mike's Way Back (Finding Perfect) (6 page)

“Taryn, it
’s Mike. How’s it going? Are you busy? I don’t want to interrupt you.”

The deep voice with a hint of a drawl warmed her insides way more than Taryn would have liked. She didn’t even know why she’d given him her number, but when he asked she handed over her business card without thinking twice.

Pulling herself up off the floor, Taryn sat down in the upholstered chair that was older than she was by a good ten years. The same chair she’d rescued from her mother and its sentence to the garage sale pile, the same chair that had followed her to the west coast and back again. It was small, cozy, swiveled and rocked, sort of a grown woman’s version of a security blanket of sorts. She toed off her heels and pulled her knees up to her chest, then smiled as she listened to the deep male voice.

“You’re not.”

Damn it.
She was grinning like a fool and it was something that a man with his instincts would pick up on very easily, even over a phone call.

“I’d like to be able to tell you I was in the neighborhood, and thought I’d swing by and take you to lunch. However, with a few hundred miles between us, that isn’t exactly easy to pull off.”

They skated around serious subjects when they spent time together, and in all reality, there was no way in hell to make something work between them. The distance was ridiculous and try as she might, the good girl in her just couldn’t do
casual
. Oh, her mother knew she couldn’t technically wear white on her wedding day, and although it hadn’t sent her mother running off for her rosary beads, it was simple—Taryn was hard-wired for commitment.

The fact that Mike was divorced wasn’t something she had an issue with, but she could see the writing on the wall. In just the few words he dropped here and there, she knew for him, he was on the other end of the commitment scale.

Strike two against them for sure.

It still didn’t keep her heart from beating faster when she opened an email from him or even better—when he called. “Yeah, I guess not, huh?”

Mike chuckled lightly. “I really debated over calling you again. I am in a unique situation here.”

“Okay? You have my interest piqued.”

Their previous conversations were mostly light teasing banter. This time felt different. The thrilling tension crackled and they’d hardly spoken for more than a minute.

“Good.” His answer was quick.

Taryn heard the firmness in his voice. In general, he came across as hesitant or even a little shy, but there was a power in his voice he couldn’t hide from her. A wave of tingles swept over her skin and instantly a hot flash drenched her.

That intense and immediate reaction overcame her before her head had a chance to pull the emergency brake. She shouldn’t like the way his voice and commanding demeanor made her feel protected and cherished. That was a secret she would never admit to anyone, even Andrew and Scott. It was different with Mike than with her father and brothers, and even more different than it was with her ex, Phillip. She reminded herself she despised anyone having any sort of control over her. Her whole adult life was a sham. The woman inside her, the one drawn to Mike, was the real her. There was no way Taryn could afford for Mike to see that side of her.

Counting to five, Taryn slowly released the breath she’d sucked in and held. By sheer will she forced herself to calm down and mask the reaction she was having to the man on the other end of the line.

“And?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“At the risk of being pushy—”

“You, pushy?” The retort was out before she could stop it. She liked to appear distant and aloof, but she didn’t often venture into bitchy territory. Before she could take it back and apologize, Mike snickered.

“I like you, Taryn Watts.”

She could hear the amusement in his voice, and could picture his face in her mind, loving the way the corners of his eyes crinkled around the clear blue when he’d laugh.
How his mouth would turn up on one side in a half smile before he’d give up and laugh out loud.

How he looked relaxed, but in command stretch
ed out in one of the old creaky chairs at the pub, legs crossed at the ankles.

Taryn took the compliment. He wasn’t confessing his heart to her, it was just a simple statement regarding her sarcastic wit that usually offended most men.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Mike Sterling.”

The light laughter on the other end sent a tingle through her. She needed to get off the phone with him. His emails were friendly, but hearing his voice this time was doing all sorts of things to her system. She needed to put a stop to
it as soon as possible. “So, Mike. Since a quick lunch is out of the equation, what can I do for you?”

“How’s the proposal coming along?”

Her eyes shut and her brow furrowed while she dissected his question. Her mind told her it was just a conversation starter, but her gut told her otherwise. “Well…it’s fine. I am just putting the finishing touches on it so we can finalize the specs and deliver it to the client.”

“So…I am guessing you or your partner will come back to town soon then?”

He was playing his cards close, but she was starting to put two and two together. Taryn did not like the way her heart just skipped a beat. This was
so
not what she needed. Surely, she was just jumping to conclusions. “This next trip, we’ll return together to deliver the presentation. This one is moving along so nicely we shouldn’t be there long.”

“Oh?”

Her mind was playing tricks on her. There was no way that she heard the disappointment in that one little reply. It was all just her imagination, nothing more. “No, this next visit is just showing her our ideas, we won’t even be in town twenty-four hours, but we’re really excited. The client is chomping at the bit to get started, so really it’s just a matter of presenting the proposal, getting the sign off, and then we’ll start the remodel. The permits are in place and we already have the subcontractors lined up, so then it’s just a few phone calls once we have a
yes
.”

“Will you be around for a while once the ball gets rolling?”

“Yeah, most likely. Oh and by the way, thank you so much for mentioning the bed and breakfast. I’ve already made arrangements with them. Dianna, I can’t remember her last name, but she sounds like such a doll.”

“She is. Does that mean for the bulk of the project, you’ll be running this one, or will Andrew come into town for it?”

“No. This one is in my wheelhouse so I’m heading it up. After this next trip, he won’t return until it’s completed.”

Hearing the snickering in her office, Taryn swiveled her chair to face the doorway. Not one, but two well-dressed males flashed their million dollar, all-knowing smiles. The heat crept over her face and down her chest at the realization that Andrew and Scott heard her answers and appeared to like the direction the conversation was heading. How had she managed to get so wrapped up in Mike’s voice she failed to hear their dress shoes
clicking on the floor as they walked closer? It didn’t matter, it was just another piece of evidence proving he was a distraction. One she didn’t need at the moment. Yet, she didn’t want to end the phone call.

Andrew and Scott were doing their best to mime their approval and push her to take a leap of faith. Taryn didn’t know why. It
would be the two of them picking up the pieces if her heart got broken. She had all the confidence in the world when it came to her career, but when it came to relationships and love, her relationship with Phillip left her skeptical and jaded.

Andrew was quietly describing
Mike to Scott. It shouldn’t have given her a thrill to hear it, or to see Scott’s face light up when he looked back at her and motioned for her to go for it. Andrew, God love him, was a complete romantic. She knew all he wanted was for her to find a love like he and Scott had. It just wasn’t that easy.

Judging by the wiggling eyebrows and the thumbs up they both were giving her, she could tell they knew Mike was feeling her out to see if it was indeed her who would return to Renlend for the two, possibly three
, months it would take to run the project.

“Excuse me for just a moment, Mike.” She unfolded her legs and stood. Walking to the doorway, she held the phone to her shoulder to block Mike from hearing her try to push the two men out so she could shut her office door. Without her heels, she was only a few inches shorter than Andrew, but Scott had a good ten inches on her. “Go, both of you. You’re acting like a couple of middle-school girls.”

“But he’s so yummy sweetheart.” Andrew said, a dazzling smile lighting his face.

“Shhh.” Taryn waved frantically at him. “He’ll hear you, now go away.”

“Oh honey, you’ve got to meet this one.” Andrew said looking at Scott as Taryn gave him another shove.

“Don’t you have something legal to do, Scott? You know, that is what people pay you the big bucks for…being their lawyer. Why are you even home in the middle of the day? Go, and take him with you. Take him to lunch or something, anything. Just both of you get out of here.”

“It’s not even ten a.m., sweetheart.” Winked Scott.

Taryn pushed with all her might, but the men were having a field day teasing her and doing their best to stand in the way of the door she was trying to shut. “Fine…name your price.”

Scott grinned, “See, it’s all about holding out for the best offer, Andrew. Hmm…I’m thinking chocolate.”

“No…crème b
rûlée.” Andrew wickedly grinned.

“Shit.” Taryn huffed. They would pick something that took a special trip to the damn grocery store to make, just to pay for their silence. It was worth it. She’d grown up with brothers and was used to their teasing. Besides, she did love these men dressed to the nines who were foolishly smiling at her, but she was a grown woman. What they were doing to her was utterly mortifying. “Fine. Go.”

With one final push against the solid wood door, they retreated. Even though it was closed, she heard their comments. They spoke so loud she knew Mike could hear.  She contemplated just hanging up, pretending the call got disconnected or a dangerous storm barreled in unexpectedly and destroyed the closest cell tower. The sun shining through her window put that lie out of commission. Besides, something told her the man on the phone would be persistent enough to call right back. Plus, she’d never been a good liar. Closing her eyes, Taryn lightly banged her head against the raised panel of the door twice, then a third time before she was able to take a deep breath and gather what little was left of her dignity.

“Sorry about that.” Maybe if she just breezed back into the conversation where they left off, he’d thinking nothing of it. It could work. “Scott stopped by and—and”

“It’s fine. No worries, sugar. I shouldn’t have bothered you during the day, I apologize.”

Taryn appreciated not having to come up with a lie to explain the behavior of her best friends who were acting like overgrown nine-year-olds. However, there was a hint of laughter in Mike’s smooth voice
. Something told her he’d heard every stinking word even though she tried to cover the phone.

Instantly she flushed red again.

It was one of those days where she’d do almost anything to be able to crawl back in bed, pull the fluffy down comforter over her head, and forget the last ten minutes of her life ever happened.

“Taryn, are you still there, hon?”

Hearing the endearments he dropped made her stomach flop right before the butterflies went wild. On top of it, she could practically hear him smiling through the damn phone. Was that possible? To hear a smile? Well, she could, and she knew he was.

Damn it.

With a slight shake of her head, she sighed. “Yeah. I’m here. I’m contemplating several methods of murder, so you’ll have to give me a minute. Oh crap! I guess I shouldn’t say stuff like that to someone who carries a gun…
and
a badge too, huh?”

Mike chuckled. “Well, I’m pretty certain I won’t be locking you up any time soon. However, just for future reference…if you’re buying people off, I’m an oatmeal cookie kind of guy myself. Add chocolate chips, and I’d do anything you asked.”

Rock. Her. Hard place.

She was embarrassed beyond belief and wanted to half laugh, half cry while waiting for a giant hole to open up in the floor and swallow her up. The bigger issue was her mind and body had engaged in a battle. Although her mind tried to keep everything in prospective and remain logical about this whole, whatever it was, thing—her heart pounded rapidly within her chest and waves of electricity rolled through her.

Taryn swallowed trying to wet her dry mouth. Her voice failed her and her words came out as a whisper. “You heard all that…didn’t you?”

“Let’s just say, you’ve made my day.”

“Goody.” It was a weak attempt at sarcasm. Taryn smirked and held on tight when his warm laugh gripped her. She was melting under his spell and for the first time in a very long time, she was worried knowing she was no match for this man. What really scared the absolute hell out of her was…it felt right.

Chapter 6

Mike considered himself an easy going type of guy. So far, the morning he was having was going to ruin that reputation. Nothing was going right. He was edgy, distracted, and just all around frustrated in general. Normally, when something went wrong he let it slide, unlike those who added up a few minor things going wrong and swore the world was conspiring against them. That sort of gloom and doom attitude got a person nowhere. Mike tried his damnedest to find the silver-lining in
everything.

Lack of sleep always left a person ready to snap, no matter how level headed they were on a normal basis. His sleep patterns sucked even more than usual lately. The problem wasn’t the nightmares that haunted him for the last year. Those he anticipated. Working out to the point of exhaustion before bed became routine on the off chance he’d sleep through the night.

That plan worked occasionally, but now when he did sleep, the added erotic dreams were so vivid when the alarm clock blared, it left him cussing and desperate. He hadn’t had a wet dream since he was a teenager.  But now he woke up almost every morning needing to wash the sheets, again. She was seriously going to be the death of him. A slow, torturous death, and not one that he’d want the papers to write about. Taryn had him in a constant state of arousal, and he’d bet money she had no clue what sort of effect she had on him.

Down-playing his attraction, he did his best to let their connection slowly develop into a friendship, but kept the insane pull he felt toward her a secret. It was one thing for him to think he’d gone off the deep end, but it was a whole other level for her to agree.

Dropping his contact in the sink for the third time, he let go a slew of cuss words before he carefully picked it back up, drenched it with saline, and started the process all over again. Being called in to work on his day off never bothered him before. On their small force, that was just one of the drawbacks he had to accept. It outweighed the worry he caused his mother when he’d worked on the metro squad. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t shift working on his house to another day. After all, that was all he really had to do most of the time.

Today was the exception, though.

He blinked, finally succeeding with his battle over his contacts. The last minute call from his co-worker left him with little time to get ready. Pulling up his gray dress pants, he slipped into his black loafers while tucking in the crisp white dress shirt. Continuing his multitasking skills, he started his black belt through the first loop while walking to the closet to grab his burgundy print tie. It was a habit he continued even though he was the only one in the department, except for the chief, who wore a tie. Not that it was particularly comfortable, but it had helped achieve an air of authority when he worked in the city. Now he was just so used to it he felt naked at work without it.

Looking longingly at his empty coffee pot, he made his way through the kitchen to the back door
quickly. He pulled it shut behind him thinking if he was quick about it, he could grab a coffee at the shop on the square. There was no way he was going to subject himself to the tar the police chief drank at the station.

After starting the truck he took a deep breath. Rushing like he had this morning put him on edge. Normally he was in control of his emotions, but to have his schedule change
on a dime just didn't set well with him today. The lack of sleep was catching up with him.  Stopping at a red light, he caught himself looking into the empty building on the square where he knew the cooking store would be.

He started to face forward, his focus on his driving like it should be, but movement in the vacant building caught his attention. The light turned green, without processing his thoughts, he found himself pulling up to the curb in front of the store. The black cloud following him vanished, replaced by a silly school-boy smile. There she was, the reason his pulse was suddenly spiking, standing in a crisp pair of black pants, a pale blue silk shirt, and another pair of amazing heels.

Mike checked his watched and took three long strides to the door. “What a nice surprise!”

Dropping the clipboard she was holding, Taryn screamed as she turned. “Son of a bitch. Damn it Michael, you scared the crap
out of me.” Putting one hand on her hip, she laid the other across her heart. “What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?”

He didn’t even have time to step all the way into the building for a decent conversation…or proper invite. “I’ll walk over at noon and pick you up—let me take you to lunch. What do you say?”

“I’d say you have a damn screw loose.”

“Ah sugar, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to startle you. Please…have lunch with me?”

Bending down in her heels to pick up her papers, Taryn maintained her professionalism, not bending over at the waist to give him the view of her ass he’d really like to have seen. Instead she quirked her brow at him as if he had three heads. Delaying her answer turned into torture as the seconds ticked by. Finally she gave in, rolling her eyes as she gracefully stood back up. “Fine. But I don’t have a lot of time today. I’m sorry.”

Pulling the glass door open wider, Mike rapidly made his way across the wood floor. His brain had lost all sense of reasoning and his dick took over. Inhaling a deep pull of the perfume she was wearing, Mike placed a lingering kiss on her cheek and squeezed her wrist. “I’ll take whatever time you’ve got. I’m glad you’re back in town.”

Turning on his heel, he glanced back at the speechless beauty with her eyes wide and mouth open. “You’re going to catch some flies like that. See you at noon.” With a wink, he pulled opened the door and headed to his truck whistling in the bright sunshine. He’d be a few minutes late, but unlike Chicago, it wouldn’t be life or death. Glancing at his wrist and the watch his grandfather had given him when he graduated college, he decided he’d still take a few minutes to grab a coffee anyway. After all, he was doing them a favor by always being the go-to they could call when someone needed to switch shifts.

Michael.
He snickered. She was feisty when she got riled up. No one called him Michael anymore—except for his mother on rare occasions, and well…Molly. It was always under the same type of circumstance. She was trying to over-power him but it never worked. She’d always be the little sister he never had. But Taryn…he grinned. She could call him by his full name any time she wanted.

~~~

With her hands at her sides, Taryn couldn’t pull her eyes off the red truck. Mike’s smile was still spread across his face and when he righted his vehicle, he glanced back at her and waved before driving away.

For the life of her she could not figure out what had just happened. She took a step and accidentally kicked the pen she dropped, sending it sliding across the floor. “Son of
a bitch.” With the click of her heels echoing in the empty space, she chased it down.

“Hmm. He’s even yummier than I remembered.”

Whipping her head around, her gaze landed on the shit-eating grin of her best friend. “Andrew!”

“Don’t go all into denial with me, girlfriend. I know you better than that. And from where I’m standing, the view looks pretty damn good. That man wants you. Bad. Not an awful place to be, if you ask me. He’s simply gorgeous.”

Rolling her eyes, she started thumbing through the papers on her clipboard. “Yeah, and I’m sure he’d appreciate you calling him that.” Taryn did not have time for distractions. Especially of the hot male that exudes testosterone variety. This job needed her focus. There were more details to see to than previous accounts, and more specifications she could not risk over-looking because she wasn’t fully invested. Plus, she was having more fun than she’d ever had with any other account. Their client was amazing to work for and it was her love…kitchens.

“You’re ignoring me which means one of two things. Either you didn’t get enough caffeine this morning, or you are attracted to him and you’re scared. If I was a betting man…oh wait. I am. I’m just going to go ahead and say it’s the latter.”

Looking up with a raised eyebrow, she attempted to feign frustration, but the lovable grin on Andrew’s face was just too sweet. Letting out a deep sigh, she shook her head. “And just why did you feel the need to come into town? You never come until the last week and we’re ready to wrap up a job.”

“Let’s just say, I have a vested interest in this account.”

“Let’s just say, that’s bullshit, and we both know it.”

“Let’s just say, I want to see you happy.”

“Let’s just say, you’re job description does not include matchmaking. Go to New York. I’m sure you need to check in on the Walton project.”

“The Walton’s will wait. You my dear, have a rugged hunk on the line, and I’m not going to let you forget to reel him in.”

“You don’t fish, so why the reference? And it makes me sound like a…a, man-eater.”

“Absolutely not.” Andrew said, his loafers tapping across the floor as he came closer. “Phillip did a number on you. I just want to make sure you don’t make Mike pay for
it. He seems like a good guy, and you need that, sweetie. It’s time. You’ve used work as an excuse for two, almost three years now.” He brushed the hair from her eyes. “You’ve got to put yourself out there again and take a chance.”

“I have.”

Andrew tipped his head. “A casual date here and there isn’t what I’m talking about. Your cop’s been emailing and calling for a month. You’re giddy after you’ve spoken with him. Even if you try to act aloof, I can see it in your eyes.”

Taryn didn’t think of Phillip that often anymore. It wasn’t as if some huge dramatic tragedy took place. He didn’t stomp on her heart, promise the moon and not deliver, or even leave her in tears. It was the opposite. He fit perfectly into her façade.

It was also the loneliest time in her life.

Mike
, on the other hand, scared the hell out of her.

Andrew was dead-on. Her heart did speed up when she opened her email and saw a message waiting from him, and hearing his voice on the other end of the phone, both soothed and jumbled her nerves. She reacted like a foolish teenager. He offered a connection she didn’t realize she’d been missing. They never ran out of things to talk about. Even the deeper conversations that sparked debates intrigued her and filled a void inside her.

Nothing changed the fact they didn’t live close enough to delve deeper. They were destined to a long-distance friendship since they were just too far apart on a map to make it worth risk opening up the walls around her guarded heart. That wasn’t even her biggest fear.

“Enjoy him.” Andrew waved his finger around her face. “I can see you over-thinking this. Just see where it goes. You don’t want to look back on your life with regrets.” He leaned in, grasping both her shoulders and dropped a peck on the tip of her nose. “We love our work, and we’re lucky enough to do something that makes us each happy. But going home to Scott at night…well, work can’t match that. Trust me.”

The door opened once again, Taryn turned to see the foreman they’d hired walking in, a construction worker just a couple steps behind him. Andrew raised an eyebrow in appreciation. “Damn…what is it with this town?”

Taryn lightly smacked at Andrew’s upper arm. “You’re all but legally married. Stop drooling or I’m going to tell Scott on you.”

“Oh honey, there’s no law against looking. Besides, he trusts me not to touch.”

Shaking her head, she gave him a shove. “Go get the plans so we can get started.”