Not what I need to focus on right now. I have to get out of here.
That was it. No more drinking.
Yeah right.
Okay, no more with Tuck in range. She wasn’t sure how this had happened but she had to get out before he woke up. Her fantasies of him were one thing but she’d not had plans to make them come to fruition.
Slipping soundlessly from the bed and his warmth that had been around her like… Nope, don’t need to go there either. She jumped into her clothes, bypassing the panties and shoving them in her pocket. Shoes in one hand, she cracked open the door to his room and stepped through.
Now, if she could just make it to the door. She tiptoed by Steve’s door and out into the living room. It didn’t matter. Steve Yost sat there on the sofa, a book in one hand and his coffee in another.
“Morning, Ariel,” he said in his familiar drawl.
Heat raced up her cheeks and she hoped he couldn’t see the redness because her face had to be flaming for sure. She blew a puff of air and shrugged hopelessly. “Don’t tell him you saw me, please.”
“You know he’ll ask.”
She shook her head, unable to deal with this right now. In her head, she imagined Tuck was waking up and on his way out to where she
desperately
wanted to leave.
“I just… I can’t, Steve.” She bolted, making sure not to slam the door.
Back at her apartment, she engaged the locks and slumped against the smooth wood, breath hitching, longing to curl into a small ball.
What the hell did I just do?
Possibly ruined a great friendship. That sucked—she truly enjoyed both of them. But she’d seen numerous times how he treated women he slept with so casually.
Pushing up from the floor, she stumbled to her bedroom and subsequently into the shower where she took a long one until she could no longer smell his scent, which had embedded itself into her skin and mind. Beneath the pounding spray, she did her best
not
to recollect how it had been in his arms. Unfortunately that was easier said than accomplished. Her memory had returned full force and in doing so, didn’t leave a single experience untouched.
Her phone was ringing as she stepped out from the bathroom with a towel about her midsection. Reaching for it, she checked the screen to see who it was before answering.
“Greene.”
“Ariel. You back?”
“I’m back, Slater. What’s up?”
Slater McKenzie was her boss and had recruited her to come to San Antonio to work for the company there.
“Can you make it in today?”
Could she? Hell yes. Not being home was a great way to avoid someone. “Absolutely. Just let me change”—she looked at her towel and figured he didn’t need to know that’s all she wore—“and I’ll be right in.”
“No need to be dressed in business attire. It’s a day off so just be comfortable.” He hung up.
Comfortable. A word she could agree with. Shucking the towel, she made her way to the dresser where she grabbed everything she would need. It didn’t take her long to dress then she shoved her feet into her canvas slip-ons.
She gave her reflection a once-over as she hung the towel back up in the bathroom. Much better than wearing a skirt or pants suit. There were days she missed her uniform from the Marine Corps.
“Well, the cammies. I could do without the skirts.” She clicked off the light as she left the room. Purse in hand along with her keys, she peered out of the peephole and shook her head. “What are you going to do, Greene, if you see him there? Head out the window and down the fire escape?”
When she caught herself thinking it could be done, she sighed and left her place. Thankfully, there was no one else around. After locking up, she hastened down the stairs to the ground floor and quickly made her way to her vehicle. Her silver LR3 had been her gift to herself after she’d got out of the Corps. Not brand new—she’d bought it pre-owned and certified. Loved it.
Before too long she was on her way, driving through the hushed streets of San Antonio. Showing her badge at the building security gate, she smiled at the man there.
“Morning, Dale.”
“Ariel. You’re here today?”
“Got called in. You on all day or leaving soon?”
“Just got here myself.”
She nodded. He was a happy man who never failed to make her smile. “I’m sure I’ll see you later then.”
“Yes, ma’am. Have a good one.”
The bar lifted and she drove into the covered parking lot. Up on the fifth floor, she parked then got out. Alarming her SUV as she walked towards the elevator bay, which also held the stairs and doors to the building, Ariel couldn’t help but think back to waking in his bed. They’d not got much sleep and even now after the hot shower, she continued to experience the ache in her muscles.
“Not sure how come I didn’t know whose bed I was in the second I woke up.” She shrugged off the memories and focused on not looking like a woman who’d just rolled out from beneath her lover before coming in.
Slater was striding through the office when she entered. He raised his coffee mug in her direction as he took a bite of the doughnut he carried. She gave a brief wave in return, immediately feeling a bit self-conscious. Slater wore a suit—granted it was rumpled and stained, but he wasn’t in cargo capris and a T-shirt.
“Meeting room. I’ll be back in five,” the man mumbled before vanishing from view.
Ariel looked around—the place was deserted. She made her way to the meeting room and walked in. Papers, as well as empty takeout containers, were scattered over the large oak tabletop.
Connie Ling, another woman at the firm, looked up and gave Ariel a tired smile as she entered. “He got a hold of you then? Good to see you. How was the wedding?”
“What the hell is going on here, Connie?” A slight grin. “Good to see you as well. The wedding was wonderful. I’ll tell you about it later. Catch me up.”
“I’ll do that,” Slater spoke from behind her. He moved past her to settle himself in the middle of most of the mess.
Ariel made her way to that end of the table then placed her purse down in a chair and sat in one next to it. “I’m all ears.”
Slater was a handsome man. A fit black man who had a mere sprinkle of grey at his temples and a gold hoop in one ear. He had tattoos on his arms they rarely got to see, for most of the time he wore a suit.
“We’ve been asked to do a security plan for the new museum that’s being built.”
She rocked back in the chair, still unaware as to why he was so stressed. “Okay, that’s not uncommon. What’s the—” She gestured to the mess before them.
“It’s because of how fast they want it. The company they had gone with first”—he took a drink of coffee—“has been accused of some very unsavoury and unflattering things. So they’re distancing themselves. Anyway, they want us to go there the day after tomorrow and meet one of their builders so we can tell them where to install things.”
“So you just got the plans?”
“Yeah. I’m sending you. You can look over what they have planned and get an idea of what to suggest but I know you’ll have some other things to add once you’re there.”
“You’re sending me?” She glanced to Connie for verification.
The slender Asian woman nodded and gave her a grin.
“Do they know how long it usually takes to come up with a plan? And for something the size of this?” She lifted one of the blueprints.
“They’re desperate. Any delay and the opening will be pushed back. You can do this, Ariel. You have a knack for it.”
She was humbled by his confidence in her ability. “I’ll get to work on it right away.”
“You sure I didn’t take you away from anything at home?”
Tuck’s image flashed in front of her face. “Nope. Nothing.” She blew out a breath. “So who am I meeting?”
“A man named Pierce Carter. At eight in the morning.”
Carter. That was Tuck’s last name. Shoving that thought into the darkest hole she could locate, she brushed off her hands. “Okay.”
* * * *
“Two days!” Tuck swore, slamming his water bottle down on the counter, sloshing some over the side. With a muttered curse, he wiped it up and dried off his hand. “Two fucking days she’s not once answered her door or phone.”
Steve glanced briefly at him before returning his attention to the magazine he held. The remnants of their takeout dinner sat on the table behind Tuck, who scooped the trash into the bin.
“Nothing to say, Steve?” He washed his hands and faced his friend. He’d expected to hear something previously from the man who’d been frowning at him for the past two days.
“What do you want me to say, Tuck? I asked you repeatedly not to sleep with her and ruin the friendship we all had. You did and now it’s like she vanished.”
“She kissed me in the elevator. What was I supposed to do?”
“Keep it in your pants,” he replied without humour. “Not treat her like the any number of women she’s seen you parade through here.”
He threw up his hands and stalked out of the room, only to return moments later. “She’s a grown woman, Steve. I didn’t force her.”
“Never said you did, Tuck. Just like if she now never speaks to us again, you have to be okay with that.”
Be okay with that?
Was the man insane? “Hell no. She’s going to talk to us again. She’s not running.”
Steve put down the magazine and stared at him. “What is it? That you didn’t get the chance to dump her first? Is that what has you so bent out of shape?”
With a theatrical groan, Tuck reigned in his frustration and took a seat. “No. I wasn’t going to dump her.”
“And she would know this how? Because your track record with women is such that it leads to people thinking of your commitment to commitment?”
“I’m a single man, Steve, just because you don’t go out doesn’t mean I can’t.”
“Never said that, man. All I’m saying is from her point of view, why should she be treated any different?” He sliced a hand through the air. “And no, I’m sure I’m not gay.”
Okay, so maybe that thought had crossed his mind. The man never—and he meant never—went out.
“So how come you understand women so much?”
“More than a gay man can understand women, Tuck. Come out of the Dark Ages. You want to know how I know? Because I fucked up a relationship and am still paying for it.”
Tuck arched an eyebrow.
“I’m married. My wife and I are separated.”
There was pain in that announcement. “We’ve been roommates for four years now.”
“Been married all that time.”
“No divorce?”
“No!” Steve’s exclamation was sharp and definite. “She’s my wife. I’m not divorcing her.”
“Okay. I’m sorry, man.”
“Look, this isn’t about me and my up-in-the-air marriage. This is about you and Ariel.”
“I’m not giving up, man. She’s the one.”
Steve leant forward, nodding as if he weren’t the least bit surprised. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”
Tuck’s phone rang. “Yes?”
“Need you to don a suit tomorrow, man. We’ve got a new company taking over the security layout for the building. I want you there with the electrician to make sure it can all be done,” Richard Dockett, his boss, said.
“Me?”
“You want to have your own business one day—this is part of it. I’m en route to Maine for a wedding. I can’t make it. Do me proud, boy.”
“Who am I meeting?”
“A representative from Prometheus Protections. Not sure who they’re sending. This is, as I said, very last minute for them to be joining in. You remember what happened with the other company.”
“I recall.”
“I want you there so we’re not having to tear down walls and all that, which would put us behind schedule.”
“Got it. I’ll be there, when?”
“Tomorrow at eight.”
He hung up and relayed the information to Steve who smiled at him.
“Congrats, man, I know you’ve been looking to move up and get more experience for what you’d have to do with your own company.”
“I know. I’m going to see if she’s home.”
Steve rolled his eyes and went back to his magazine.
Tuck walked across the hall and knocked on her door. Nothing. “Ariel? Are you in there? If you are come talk to me, I’m not going anywhere.” Not a peep. “Christ, what’d you do, go stay at a hotel to make sure you didn’t have to see me?”
He stomped back to his place and slammed the door behind him. Making a beeline for his room, he didn’t say anything to Steve on the way, then just sat on his bed and dropped his head into his hands with a groan of defeat.
His phone rang again and instead of feeling uplifted by seeing Ariel’s number there, he saw Daisy’s. “Ariel was right and so was Steve. This is getting ridiculous.” He hit ‘Ignore’ and flopped back on his bed. Ariel wasn’t getting away that easily. He hadn’t lied when he’d told Steve she was the one.
* * * *
Morning came fast and as he fixed his tie he waited by the coffee machine. Steve gave him a thumbs-up as he walked by. “Good luck.”
He appreciated the support but he had no plans on fucking this up. Once he had his coffee in his travel mug, he went down to his truck and drove to the construction site.
Waving to the guys who were on their way to do construction work, he got out and went inside. He saw the electrician, Marvin Patterson, and made his way to his side. “Morning, Marv.”
“Hey, man. Good to see you here. Richard told me he was sending you.”
“Here’s hoping the one they send from the new company won’t be as annoying as the other one.”
“Amen.”
The sound of heels clicking along the floor reached them and together they turned. Tuck’s breath caught in his throat.
No way
. He blinked a few times but his vision didn’t change. Walking towards him—and Marv—was none other than the woman he’d been trying to get in touch with. Ariel Greene. She had her nose in the file she held and hadn’t spotted him yet.
“Gentlemen,” she said without looking up. “I’m so sorry to be the last one here, I was just looking…” She trailed off when she finally glanced up to see him.
That’s right, sweetheart. I’ve got you now.
She recovered quickly. “Looking to see where we should begin.”
Marv said, “Let me go grab something I forgot from my car. I’ll be right back.”