Break the Rules (The Flanagan Sisters Book 1) (14 page)

She’d
had to do the permit herself, and then was told that production didn’t have
anyone spare to supervise them, so she’d had to do that as well. Afterward
she’d written out the permits for the remaining days, double checked her work
requests had been converted into work orders, and confirmed with the shift
supervisor he would have people on the job for the next couple of days.
Reluctantly he agreed.

By
the time the contractors had finished what they could that day, Bridget was
running so far behind it wasn’t funny.

She
took a few minutes to accompany them to the gatehouse and make sure there were
no issues and then started on the work she should have been doing all day.

It
was seven o’clock before she was able to leave. As she did, her phone rang.

“You’re
working late.” Jack’s voice held a hint of a reprimand.

That
was something she hadn’t considered when asking him to move in. He would know
exactly how much she was working. “Yeah, I’m leaving now. Can I tell you about
it when I get home?”

“Sure.
Dinner will be ready.”

She
hung up, a warm glow in her stomach. It was nice having someone to go home to,
someone who was cooking for her. She and Tanya had largely made their own meals
because Bridget was never sure when she would finish work.

The
drive was less busy than usual and it wasn’t long before she was walking
through her front door, the scent of garlic bread in the air. She dumped her
purse on her bed and went through to the kitchen. Jack waved at her, his eyes
wide, pointing to the phone he held in his hand.

“Mrs.
Flanagan, I assure you, Bridget is fine. In fact she’s just walked in the
door.” There was a pause. “Yes, I’ll hand it over.”

Bridget
frowned. Jack looked panicked. She took the phone. “
Hola
,
Mamá
.
Qué
pasa
?”

Her mother chuckled, low and mischievous.
Her response was in rapid, strongly-accented
English. “Who was that man? Why is he answering? Should I call the police?”

Bridget
laughed. “Mama, what did you do?” On occasion her mother had fun playing the
stereotypical hysterical Hispanic woman, and seeing how people reacted.

“How anxious
is he?”

Jack
was watching her, concern on his face.
“Anxious enough.
What did you say?”

“I
merely asked if he was holding you hostage.”

Bridget
groaned, but couldn’t prevent the smile from crossing her face.

“So
who is he?”

“He’s
my new boss, Mama. Tanya got married on the weekend and moved out. Jack needed
a place to stay, and I needed a roommate.”

“Is
that wise?”

Bridget
sighed. “I don’t know.”

“You
must bring him to the next family lunch,” Carmen insisted. “I want to meet him,
make sure he doesn’t take advantage of you.”

Bridget
winced. There was no getting around it. If she didn’t bring Jack to the lunch,
her mother was likely to appear on her doorstep demanding an introduction. But
when Carmen realized Jack wasn’t
just
Bridget’s boss, she’d be worried.

“Sure, Mama.
I’ll see you then. Love you.” She hung up.

Jack
handed her a glass of wine. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think before I answered the
phone.”

Bridget
shook her head. “She was just playing with you. She didn’t mean it.”

Jack frowned.
“So she wasn’t about to call the police on me for holding you hostage?”

Bridget
laughed. “No. She was having fun.”

“That’s
a relief.” He chuckled. “She sure had me fooled. I can’t wait to meet her.”

She
took a sip of the wine. “She’s invited you to the next family lunch.” She
waited for his reaction.

“That’s
great. Maybe you can tell me what I need to do to win her over.”

Bridget
smiled. She had thought the idea of meeting her mother would have freaked him
out. “I’ve got a couple of tips.”

Jack
went over to the stove. “Hungry?”

“Starved,”
she said as she took a seat at the table. “Did you get your things in all
right?”

“Yeah,
it wasn’t hard. I do have some more stuff I can take out of storage if we need
it. I wasn’t sure what Tanya had taken.”

“Most
of the kitchen things are hers and we went halves on the sofas and table. I
might sell both, give her
her
share and then buy
something cheap.”

“Well
I’ve got sofas and a kitchen table in storage. Why don’t we check them out on
the weekend and you can see if they suit?”

“Sounds good.”
She didn’t have the extra cash to spend right now.

Jack
dished up the fettuccine carbonara with garlic bread on the side, and topped up
her wine glass.

“This
looks fantastic.”
And smelled even better.

“It’s
my go-to dish,” Jack admitted. “It’s not hard to make.” He took the seat next
to her. “Are we allowed to talk about why you were so late?”

They
had their no-work talk deal for the weekends, but this was mid-week. Their
agreement was going to have to change, plus Bridget wanted to talk to someone
about it.

“A
few issues with the contractors,” she said and explained what had happened.

Jack
frowned. “Is it sorted for the rest of the week?”

She
nodded. “I’ve spoken to the production superintendent. He’s going to make sure
it all goes smoothly.”

“You
didn’t need to stay late though.”

“We’ve
got the team-building sessions next week,” she told him. “That eats into my
time to complete this project.”

He
sighed. “You’re right. I would have liked to postpone it until afterward but we
need more cohesion as a team.”

She
agreed. “So what are we going to do?”

He
grinned at her. “It’s a secret, but it will be fun.”

She
finished off her pasta and sat back with a sigh. “You can cook in future.”

“No way.
I’m into equal opportunity. We’ll share.” He paused. “But there’s one thing I
want to ask.”

“Go
ahead.”

“Are
these plates Tanya’s?” He grimaced at the pink floral decoration and purple
border.

Bridget
laughed. “They’re hideous, aren’t they?” she said. “Tanya’s aunt gave them to her
and we never got around to replacing them.”

“Hallelujah.
Do you want me to get my kitchen things out of storage on the weekend?”

“As long as they’re not as bad as this.”

“Definitely not.”

She
got to her feet and cleared the table, stacking the dishwasher. “I need a
shower,” she said. She hesitated for only a moment. “Do you want to join me?”

He
grinned.
“Absolutely.”

* * *

Bridget
was a little edgy for the next few days. Every time someone called her she
flinched, and then relaxed when the question was about work.

She
and Jack continued driving to work separately. Neither of them knew when they
might have to work late, and while they had decided not to keep the fact they
were living together a secret if someone asked, they didn’t want to provoke the
question by arriving in the same car.

Bridget
was surprised at how easily they fell into a rhythm. Whoever arrived home first
would cook dinner, and often they were both happy to sit on the couch and watch
television in the evening. They had a couple of favorite shows in common, but
if Jack was watching something she wasn’t interested in, she’d curl up next to
him and read a book. More often than not, they shared a bed and fell asleep,
content and sated.

On
the weekend, they loaded Tanya’s remaining things into Bridget’s truck and
delivered them to Hal’s place. Tanya was working so she wasn’t there. They
hadn’t spoken since Bridget had hung up on her, but she’d have to call her
soon. There was no point staying mad at her. Her heart had been in the right
place.

Afterward,
they drove to Jack’s storage shed. It was packed full of boxes and furniture,
but everything was clearly labeled.

“The
kitchen things are over there.” Jack pointed to a stack of boxes on the left
side of the unit.

Over
several trips they transported the sofas and kitchen table, as well as several
boxes of kitchen items. Jack had good taste in furniture. The couches were gray
and soft enough to really get comfortable, without being too soft to sit
straight. The dining table was rectangular, made from pine with six matching
chairs. His dishes were plain white. It would be wonderful to eat off something
that didn’t make her feel ill.

Bridget
lifted the last box onto the kitchen cabinet and opened it. Face up in front of
her was a framed photo. Jack grinned at the camera while a gorgeous brunette
kissed his cheek.

Chapter 14

Bridget’s chest constricted and she took a
sharp intake of breath. The flash of jealousy was fast and unwanted. She stared
at the woman. Who was she?

It
was only natural that Jack had had other girlfriends before her. Just because
he knew about Lionel, didn’t mean he had to tell her about his ex-girlfriends.

Swallowing
down her jealousy she held up the frame. “Where do you want to put this?”

He
glanced over and his eyes widened. He took the frame from her. “I didn’t
realize I’d packed it,” he said, putting it face down on the counter. “I dated
Melanie for a couple of years in Australia. When I told her I was going back to
Texas we broke up. She didn’t want to move and I didn’t want to stay. Neither
of us loved the other enough to change where we were living.”

The
green-eyed monster quietened in Bridget’s head. “Do you keep in touch?”

“We’re
friends on social media,” he said. “We’ve both moved on.” He turned her toward
him. “Do you want me to get rid of the photo?”

She
shook her head. She wasn’t quite that insecure. Melanie was part of his past
and their relationship had ended amicably. Not like her relationship with
Lionel. She and Tanya had made a bonfire in the backyard to burn all her photos
of Lionel and everything he’d given her over their relationship. It had been
incredibly cathartic.

“Keep
it,” she said.
“Though if you want to display it, it can go
in your room.”

He
smiled. “I’ll put it in my drawer. Melanie was a good friend, we had fun
together. But I didn’t feel for her what I feel for you.”

His
words sent a stream of delight through her, followed closely by concern. Why
was this moving so fast?

He
kissed her, drawing her closer, sending
a lovely
shimmering warmth through her body, and she pushed aside her concerns.

“Well,
that’s all right then,” Bridget said when she got her breath back.

“Want
to go to the movies tomorrow?” Jack asked, changing the subject and throwing her
off balance.

“Sure.
What do you want to see?”

“I
don’t care. We could go to dinner afterward.”

It
sounded like fun. The last time she’d gone to the movies, she’d chosen what had
been advertised as a romance, but the hero had died. She and Tanya had gone
through a pack of tissues and come out with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

“The
latest Avengers movie is out,” she told Jack. “We could see that.”

He
grinned. “I knew you were my perfect woman.” He hugged her and turned back to
unpacking his box.

Bridget
stood there. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be anyone’s perfect woman. It
sounded like too many expectations to her.

With
a small sigh, she continued to unpack.

* * *

Jack
made sure he kept their Sunday date as casual and fun as he could. Things were
moving fast and he didn’t want to overwhelm Bridget.

But
it was difficult. There were so many things about her that made him smile, and
he didn’t want to hide his feelings. He enjoyed living with her, liked how they
were both so easygoing, and was pleased she was beginning to relax at work
again.

As
they lined up to get their movie tickets he asked, “Do you want anything to
eat?”

“Whoppers,”
she said instantly. “It’s not a movie without Whoppers.”

He ordered
the candy and the tickets and then put a hand over hers when she tried to pay.
“It’s my treat today.”

“All right.
I’ll pay next time.”

Bridget
picked up her box of Whoppers and they moved away from the concession stand.

“Hey,
Jack.
Fancy seeing you here.”

They
both turned at Ken’s voice. Bridget dropped Jack’s hand like it burned.

Ken
noticed Bridget and his eyes widened.
“Hi Bridget.”

He
glanced between the two of them and Jack wanted to swear.
Just
when the day was going so well.

“We’re
going to the new Avengers movie. What are you seeing?”

Ken
indicated his two children next to him. “We’re watching a cartoon.”

There
were questions and speculation in Ken’s eyes, but Jack wasn’t going to give him
a chance to voice it. “We’d better get in there before it starts. See you
tomorrow.”

With
a gentle nudge to Bridget, they walked away.

She
let out a deep breath. “Damn it.”

He
couldn’t agree more.

“Should
we have explained?” she asked.

“Explained
what? That we’re dating? It’s none of his damn business.” Jack couldn’t help
the annoyance in his voice.

“No, about the Tanya and Hal thing.
Ken’s a gossip.”

“So
we’ll straighten out anything he says on Monday.” They walked into the dim
theater. “Try not to let it worry you.”

She
opened her mouth and then shook her head.

Finding
seats, he took hold of her hand. It stiffened for a moment and then relaxed.
“Forget about it and enjoy the movie.”

She
gave him a small smile and turned her attention to the screen.

She
would
worry about it. Perhaps he should duck out and find Ken to explain the
situation. But then it might seem worse somehow. He didn’t know how to solve
this problem.

* * *

It
took until the firefighting training on Monday afternoon for someone to ask
Bridget about the rumor. She was surprised it had taken that long. The slightly
guilty expression on Ken’s face when she’d run into him in the hall earlier
told her he’d already gossiped about what he seen at the cinema the day before.
She’d been tense all day, waiting for the insinuations, and it was almost a
relief when the first one came.

“Bridge,
I hear you went to the movies with your boss,” one of the operation technicians
said.

She
couldn’t prevent the instinctive tensing of her muscles. But she’d debated so many
options of how she was going to answer any questions and had decided to be
mostly honest. “And did you hear we’re living together too?”

The
guy’s eyes almost popped out of his head.

She
laughed. “Relax. My best friend and roommate ran off and got married to Jack’s
brother. Jack had been living at his brother’s house, I needed a new roommate,
so we figured it made sense in the short term.” She shrugged, trying for casual
and unconcerned, but her shoulders were stiff. “We both wanted to watch the
same movie, so we went together.”

“Your best friend and his brother?
Small world.”

“Isn’t
it?” she agreed. “I’m lucky he’s helping me out because I’d be in a real bind
otherwise.” She clapped her hands together. “Shall we get to work?”

The guys
grabbed the equipment they needed for the fire-fighting exercise and Bridget
breathed a sigh of relief. That’s all she had to do. Admit to parts and make it
seem like no big deal. Most wouldn’t be interested enough after that to
question it.

She
hoped.

* * *

After
training, she headed for the breakroom to get a drink.

“Bridge,
I hear Tanya eloped,” Trish said.

“Yeah.
Tanya’s always been the spontaneous type. She only met Hal when we went out
dancing a few weeks ago.”

“I
wish I’d been able to go with you, but I had a family thing. So who is he?
What’s he like?” She filled her mug with hot water as she asked.

“Turns
out he’s Jack’s brother.”

“Wow.
So is it true he’s living with you?”

“Temporarily,”
Bridget said. “We were both left hanging when Hal and Tanya wanted to move in
together.”

“You’re
lucky you already knew him.”

Bridget
shrugged. “It’s kind of awkward, him being my boss and all, but it was the
practical solution.”

“He’s
a bit of a
hottie
,” Trish said. “It could be worse.”

Bridget
smiled. “I suppose so.”

It
wasn’t so bad. There were no sly remarks, no insinuations – yet. She wasn’t
naive enough to think they wouldn’t come, but she’d take it one day at a time.

* * *

“You almost ready?”
Jack called as he put his overnight bag for the team-building session
by the front door.

“Yes,”
Bridget said coming out of her bedroom. “You want to car-pool?”

Jack
raised an eyebrow.
“You sure?”
It was bound to raise
questions and she’d been so adamant about secrecy.

“Pretty
much everyone knows you’re living with me,” she said.

Jack
frowned. “You think Ken said something?”

She
snorted. “I
know
Ken said something. Several people asked me about it
yesterday. Didn’t anyone ask you?”

“No.”
He hadn’t noticed any speculative looks either, but he’d been in the manager’s
meeting all afternoon. Perhaps news was slow to travel to upper management.
“Are you all right about it?” She was awfully calm.

She
nodded. “I told them about Hal and Tanya. They think we’re doing each other a
favor. I didn’t say anything about our relationship. Like you said, it’s none
of their business.”

“Tell
me if anyone gives you a hard time.”

She
kissed his cheek. “I can fight my own battles.”

A
little ray of hope shone through him. Maybe she was coming to realize it wasn’t
so bad, that people wouldn’t question her motives. Then they could admit they
were in a relationship.

Jack
followed her into the kitchen where she was making up two travel mugs of
coffee. “Is one of those for me?”

“If you behave.”

He stood
behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “What if I’m really bad?” he
whispered in her ear.

She
turned, pressing further against him. “I’m hoping you will be.”

Her
kiss was possessive, hot, and heat seared through him. He gripped her butt and
lifted her up onto the kitchen cabinet, opening her legs so he could move
between them. Her hands dug into his hair and pulled, sending lust straight to
his groin. He had to have her. He unbuttoned her shorts, and slid down the
zipper.

“Jack,”
she
said,
her voice breathless. “Do we have time for
this?”

“Yes.”
He’d damn well make time for it. He tugged on the shorts and she lifted her
butt so he could slide them off. He moved his hand between her legs as she
fumbled with his pants. She was so wet. He teased her clitoris and slid a
finger into her.

She
groaned and flung her head back. “Jack, please.”

He
wanted to make her come. He wanted to drive her crazy until she was begging for
him. Moving his fingers, he set up a rhythm. Her breath came in gasps as he used
one hand to free himself of his pants. She clenched and he knew she was near.
He captured her mouth and kissed her as her orgasm rocked through her.

“Jack!”

As
her waves began to settle, he lifted her up and thrust into her.

“Yes.”

She
was so incredibly wet. He moved inside her, feeling her muscles begin to clench
again. “Come for me again, sweetheart.”

She
opened her eyes, looked directly at him and grinned. “Make me.”

His
heart flipped over in his chest and he was lost. This beautiful, sensual woman was
all he ever wanted, or would ever need. “Challenge accepted.”

This
time, when she came, he did too.

* * *

After
Jack was sure his legs would support him, he turned away and cleaned up,
pulling up his pants.

Bridget
sat on the benchtop, her hands behind her, her head tilted back, looking
incredibly sexy and satisfied.

“If
you stay like that, we may never make the team-building session,” he said.

“It’d
be worth it.”

His
practical Bridget was considering playing hooky. He grinned, smugness squeezing
his chest. He tucked his hand behind her head and drew it up so he could kiss
her. “I’ll finish the coffee.”

She
huffed out a breath.
“All right.”
She shuffled off the
cabinet, picked up her shorts, and walked out of the kitchen, her bottom
peeking out from under her shirt.

He
felt himself stir again and turned his attention to the coffee maker. As
tempting as it was to stay here, he could hardly miss his own team-building
session.

But
what was he going to do about her? About the way he felt? He didn’t want to hide
their relationship anymore. He wanted to proclaim it to everyone who was
willing to listen.

He
loved Bridget Flanagan.