Mike's Way Back (Finding Perfect) (7 page)

Chapter 7

The morning couldn’t have gone slower unless the end of the world rained down on him. It didn’t help it was a weekday, which meant other than hearing about two traffic stops on the scanner, Mike had nothing to do except sit at his desk and stare at the clock. He’d completed the schedule for the following week, talked to the city planner about an upcoming event, and met with the chief regarding a possible gun safety class he wanted to offer to the middle school kids over the summer.

Now he waited, drummed his fingers on his desk, fiddled with the files in his top box, and looked at the clock every five minutes. Twice, he caught himself with his phone in his hand and a text message half-typed to her. Both times, he deleted it and berated himself for acting like a total moron.

For the life of him, he couldn’t get himself under control, and that bothered him to no end. Control was his ally, his one constant that saved his life. Taryn turned him inside out, and he found himself acting like a fool more times than he cared to admit. Even the stupid goofy grins the other guys called him on were humiliating. Again, he couldn’t help it. He thought of her regularly, and every time he did, happiness flooded him.

This was different. She was different. She didn’t seem to know how beautiful she was.

Taryn was unlike any other woman he’d ever met. He loved the way she bantered with him, or countered him regarding a topic she was passionate about. She didn’t agree with every word he said or act like she loved every hobby he had. She didn’t BS him to make things progress faster between them.

Typing the last line of his email, he glanced at the clock in the corner of his laptop and smiled. It was close enough to noon, he was going to call it good. Pressing send, Mike logged out and turned the screen off. He poked his head in the chief’s office. “I’m skipping out for a bit. I’ll be back after lunch.”

The older man didn’t look up. “Obviously, you need to hurry back because we’re so swamped.”

Chuckling, Mike shook his head. “No shit.”

Normally he’d give him a hard time for not breaking away for lunch, but Mike was now a man on a mission. Turning the corner, he quickened his pace as he walked down the sidewalk. Nearing the opposite end of the block, his smile widened. Silently telling himself to act normal, he pulled the door open to find Carl Strauss and Andrew sitting at a makeshift table discussing blueprints. Taryn was nowhere to be seen. “Andrew? I didn’t know you were coming in for this project.” He walked closer with his hand extended as both men stood. “How are you doing?”

It was up there with the one of the toughest things he’d ever done as Mike fought to control the snicker wanting to escape seeing the look on Andrew’s face. Judging by the twitching lips and glimmer in his eye, her friend definitely knew something. Instinct told Mike they’d been discussing him.

“I’m great, hon. Just fabulous. Our girl will be right back. She just ran upstairs to double-check something for Carl here.”

He didn’t miss the way Andrew slipped in hopefulness in mentioning ‘our girl’, it was then a faint click of high heels could be heard crossing the floor above him, then she was making her way down the stairs.

“Carl…I don’t know about that wall. I think it will make the bedroom section feel too closed in.”

Mike watched her as she walked toward them. Taryn was totally absorbed in her work, her glasses on, head down and head tilted while she scribbled something on her clipboard. And he thought he was good at multitasking…she did it all in stilettos. God she was hot.

It was a toss-up between the heels, the glasses, or
the body. Mike knew it was a combination of all three, with passion and intellect thrown in, and it drove a man like him to his knees.

“Hey, sugar.”

Her hand stilled. She raised her head looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Mike was an expert of sorts in reading people. It was something he’d always prided himself on in his line of work, especially when he’d been in Chicago. However, now he was reaping the benefits of his talent on a larger scale. Watching the way her breathing changed, the swallow she forced down, and the shock in her eyes as she stared back at him all added up to give her away.

Without taking his eyes off her, he could still see Andrew shuffle in his seat and smirk, confirming the response he was reading.

“Mike.” She breathed out to answer.

Winking back, Mike pulled back into a professional. “It looks like you’re busy. Do you still have time for lunch?” They were words he made himself say, reading the stain on her cheeks so she’d be able to keep up the front in front of the other men. If Carl was working this job that meant his son was too. He blew out a slow breath and chose not to think about that for the moment.

“Um.” She glanced at the watch on her wrist.

“Yes. She has plenty of time, Mike.” Andrew answered, drawing out the answer in a playful manner that Mike was afraid Andrew would find himself in trouble for later. She leveled him with a narrowed eye. Yep. Her friend was definitely going to get an earful at some point. Andrew stood and took her clipboard from her
then gave her a gentle push in his direction. “Don’t hurry back. You know I wouldn’t if it was me.”

Taryn gritted her teeth. “Andrew.”

“Bye, love. Have fun. Go. Go.”

He pushed her across the wood floor, and Mike had to fight twice as hard not to laugh at the pair. Theirs was a friendship that was obviously years long, otherwise Andrew wouldn’t have been able to get away with the stunt he was pulling.
Mike found it funny as hell, but kept his laughter to himself. As much as he’d grown to like Taryn over the last few weeks, it suddenly looked like he had someone in his corner to help him win her over. He mouthed, “Thanks, man” to her friend and placed his palm on her lower back as they walked out into the sunshine.

“God, I’m going to kill him.” She whispered to herself. Whipping her head to stare wide-eyed at him, Mike winked again. “Shit. I have to quit saying that in front of
you
. I’m going to find myself handcuffed yet.”

“Well.” He wiggled his eyebrows. His day had only gotten better and better after finding out she was in town. Her mouth twitched and it appeared she was biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling.

After a long minute, she smarted back. “You think you’re man enough…
detective
?”

Mike leaned down to her ear as they walked. “I know I am, sugar.” Taryn pulled in a quick breath and her face flashed red. She wasn’t daring a second look up at him, or a comment back.

Miss Professional was turning out to be full of all sorts of wonderful surprises. Mike smiled to himself.

Walking down the sidewalk, in and out of the shade of various awnings, they continued past Jenny’s. He counted in his head. Mike didn’t get to three before Taryn turned to him.

“I…I thought we were going to lunch?”

“We are.” He waited as the question washed over her face, the creases deepening only to fade again as she stared at him. “I thought I’d take you somewhere else, rather than feed you bar food again.”

“Where?” She asked.

Taryn figured out he was guiding her to his truck and slowed her steps. Opening the door, he helped her up into the cab. “It’s a surprise.” She was very quiet as he started the truck and eased out of the parking spot. “Not one for surprises?”

“No. What was your first clue?”

“You
‘re fidgeting and squirming around like you’re scared of me. Hopefully, you’ve gotten to know me better than that over the last month.”

“I’m not scared of you.” She said with all sincerity in her voice, her head tilted at him as if she was afraid of his
feelings being hurt. “I just…I—”

“Like control.”

“Yeah.” Her shoulders deflated.

The drive to his house was extremely short. Turning into the drive and toward the small detached garage, Mike caught the shock wash over her. Taryn peered around him, wide-eyed, soaking in the details. He was proud of this house, his home. It would take another couple of years to get her back to the glory she once stood in, but Mike had all the time in the world and loved every minute he spent sanding, painting and nailing. He prided himself on being able to do the majority of the work himself with the exception of the big things like the foundation work and the roof.

“This is beautiful, Mike.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. I know you of all people can see past the work that still has to be done and visualize what she’ll become. I thought maybe we could eat lunch out on the back patio.”

“I’d like that. Thank you.”

~~~

Exiting his truck, a hundred thoughts ran through her head. There was no logical reason in the free world why Taryn felt safe with Mike. They could technically be considered barely more than strangers. They’d eaten together each of the three days she’d been in town the last time. That was it as far as face-to-face contact. However, there was an ease she felt in his presence and that had led to a few emails. Then those rapidly accumulated and turned into phone calls. Even though there was a physical distance between them, she felt like she’d gotten to know more about Mike in one month than she ever knew about Phillip.

Looking back…she knew that was how she had wanted it.
Her ex filled a void, but was nothing more than that—a space filler. The realization that Mike was so much more than that set in.

“A penny for your thoughts.”

Blinking away her fears, she glanced to the man who had moved into her personal space. “Oh. Sorry. I guess I spaced off there for a minute.”

He took her hand in his and held it against his chest. “I am not a mind reader by any stretch of the imagination, but if I were to take a wild guess, I’d say you have come to the same conclusion that I did recently.”

Taryn furrowed her brow and waited. Still he didn’t fill her in. “What do you mean?”

A slow smile spread across his face, reaching his eyes. They were so blue she found herself staring into them. She caught herself and turned her head, but just as she moved to step back his other hand came around to rest on her lower back, preventing her from putting space between them.

She had tried not to stare when they’d been together, afraid to let him catch her memorizing his body. Now in his hold it was impossible not to acknowledge his strength and size. Even in heels, Taryn still had to look up to meet his gaze. Fire swept through her and had her pulling in a quick breath. It was far from a silent admission to the effect he had on her and he grinned. Mike leaned his forehead against hers. The closeness afforded her the ability to get lost in his scent, soap and detergent, mixed with the smell of expensive cologne. No pine trees or musk for this small town guy. He dressed well and smelled delicious.

The heat from his palm spread across her lower back and was searing her
skin through her clothing. Her pulse was racing and getting her breathing under control seemed to be a lost cause. Her reaction to the man whose hold she remained in was so foreign to her. Never before had she raced to her computer to check for an email, or had her heart race at the sight of caller ID. Never had her mouth gone dry just seeing him across the room, or had electricity travel through her at a man’s touch. Never before, until Mike.

Phillip seemed to appreciate
her as the arm candy he needed, but she was left feeling nothing at the end of the night. Not empty, just nothing. A blankness. Mike filled her and left her smiling for hours with just words typed out on a screen.

“We have something, Taryn. I know you weren’t looking for it, and to be honest…
neither was I. I didn’t really notice I was missing anything in my life. Until now.”

“But. We’re…we don’t live anywhere close to each other. How would it ever work?”

“I wish I had an answer for you. Let’s just not think about that…for now. Please?”

The last few words he’d slipped out on a whisper, and then her world halted on its axis
when he tipped her chin up with his knuckle and leaned in for a kiss. It should have been just a soft kiss, friendly, no emotion behind it, just like all the others she’d experienced over the years. The instant his lips touched hers though, she went from tentative to on fire instantly, and her worries about distance vanished.

Mike pulled her closer and Taryn had to drag in a breath, feeling the length of him against her. His high-dollar slacks did nothing to hide his excitement. As the tip of his tongue ran across her bottom lip, she parted for him and he took over, memorizing every part of her. His other hand cradled her neck, angling her to the side for a deeper kiss.

A soft moan rumbled in his throat and it sent sparks shooting through her. Taryn wrapped her arms around his neck wanting everything he was offering, as if it was her first kiss.  In a way it was, because she sure as hell had never been kissed like the world was ending, like she was the only woman he’d ever needed.

She had no idea how much time had passed, but as he pulled back ever so slowly, it was as if he didn’t want to break the contact any more than she did. It was only the need for air that caused them to separate. Taryn rushed to start breathing again, the tip of her tongue touching her top lip.