Chasing the Runaway Bride (8 page)

“You’ve got to stop doing this,” she said.

He grinned. “What? Wanting to see the file of one of my employees?”

“Always standing so close.”

He shifted a bit, just a bit, just enough that the fear of their bodies brushing against each other trembled through her. “Feels pretty good to me.”

And, God, it felt pretty good to her. The shivery heat. The yearning to be kissed. The ache in her femininity.

“It’s not right. I told you yesterday. We’re partners, and people who work together shouldn’t—” She refused to say it. Absolutely refused. “Shouldn’t…You know…”

His grin grew and he inched closer. “I think I know.”

“Me and you? Not a good idea.” She caught his gaze again. “Anything between us would ruin my name.”

He laughed. “If we kept this a secret, neither one of us would have to worry about our name. Our reputation.”

Her mouth fell open. So he’d thought about that discussion yesterday too? And his conclusion hadn’t been to run, but to keep whatever they did a secret? “Have you been away so long that you’ve forgotten how this town works?”

He snorted. “Not hardly.”

“Make one mistake and they talk about you. Make two and they feel like it’s their job to remind you.”

He brought a finger to the little space between her eyebrows, then traced a line down her nose. “Does this mistake you made have anything to do with why the Nelsons quit?”

“Yes.” Shivery heat blanketed her in need. The touch of his skin to her skin nearly set her on fire. Words failed her. But maybe that was a good thing. Did she really want to tell him she was a runaway bride? “But it’s not important.”

“Fine. I’m not at all interested in your life, your troubles. Last night, I decided that would be the best way to handle this. You don’t need to talk. I don’t want to listen.” He ran his finger from her neck to the
U
of her tank top. “We’d just do. No discussions, just action.”

When waves of delight undulated through her, she knew they’d passed trouble and were racing toward disaster. She pressed her hand to his chest, and with the element of surprise, moved him away enough that she could escape.

“Seriously.” Her voice shivered so hard it almost hurt. “Stop. I mean it. Even a secret sex rendezvous is a bad idea.” She shook her head. “Not just a bad idea, not just a mistake, but a super colossal ridiculous mistake. We’d fight at the store all day and then have some sexual thing at night? It makes no sense. Plus, nothing ever stays a secret in this town. Somehow, some way, word of what we were doing would get out. And I won’t have people making fun of me any more than they already do. If you won’t agree to stay away from me, then I won’t be in the store when you are. Ever.”

…

Cade rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. To settle her down, he said, “All right. I get it.” But inside he was as confused and angry as she was. A session in the sack might take care of this attraction, but she was right. They were enemies. She shouldn’t have to remind him of that; he should be smarter. But no matter how smart he was, his libido was totally onboard for a night of fun with her and pressing for action. It was like wrestling a grizzly bear to turn and head back to the desk chair.

“You take care of your mom’s file on your shift. We have a bigger problem than her being worried that I’ll see her social security number.” He pointed out the little window that overlooked the store floor. “It appears as if my grandfather was wrong. Having the two of us here hasn’t increased business. Now that yesterday’s curiosity is over, we’re empty. Customer-less. I think we should drop back to having only one clerk per shift.”

She walked to the window to look out at the store, saw no customers, and sighed. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”

The breathlessness in her voice shuddered through him, filling him with a restless need, and he knew, no matter how much of a prude she was, or how wise he was to not sleep with the enemy, they would eventually do something about their attraction. Today might not be the day, and tomorrow might not be either, but he would sleep with her. And it would be amazing.

“I’ll call Bunny and Maria and tell them not to come in,” he said. “That takes one clerk off first shift and one clerk off the second. We’ll have coverage if someone comes in, but not two clerks standing around doing nothing.”

She nodded in agreement.

Conversation over, he grabbed his jacket. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She nodded. “Tomorrow. At three.”

He left, a little annoyed with himself that his hormones were getting the best of him. The fact that they were enemies should have been enough to cool his libido, yet it wasn’t. But, as he drove to Finn and Ellie’s, he remembered the look in her eyes when he’d trapped her against the filing cabinet. And her comment about a mistake? That was the second time she’d mentioned it.

And maybe that mistake was what he needed to know to get his common sense back.

He dropped his car keys on the center island in the kitchen and strode to the parallel sofas in the family room. He should be packing. The newlyweds wouldn’t be returning from their honeymoon for another few days, but he liked to be prepared. That meant moving into his grandfather’s house so he didn’t have to live with ooey gooey lovebirds.

Instead, he flicked on a lamp, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed Devon’s number.

His phone worked the magic it always did, and within seconds Devon said, “So how’s it going, spending your days with Piper O’Riley?”

Cade fell to one of the two sofas in front of the fireplace. “The store is failing.”

Devon laughed. “Oh come on. It can’t be that bad.”

“Oh, it’s bad.” Given that it had only been three days, he couldn’t really say it was a disaster, but there was no way in hell he’d tell his brother he’d called for information about Piper. Particularly since he wanted the information so he could use it to talk himself out of sleeping with her. He’d make his curiosity about her look like it pertained to the store.

“You know how we have to keep O’Riley’s open to steer Dad off the scent of the size of the estate? Well, that might be harder than it sounds. We didn’t have any customers on my shift today.”

“Oh.”

“Plus, two of the employees called and quit the day we opened.”

“Because you left Lonnie at the altar and refused to support her child?”

“No. Those were the people fighting over the lettuce. The people who quit didn’t want to work with Piper.”

“People fought over lettuce?”

“That’s not the big deal. Something’s wrong with Piper. Today’s the second time she’s mentioned having made a mistake. Because she won’t tell me, I know there’s a story.”

Devon sighed with disgust. “Of course there’s a story.”

Cade waited a beat then said, “If something she did is going to ruin our plan to keep the store open, I need to know. Think of yourself as having gathered recon intel, Marine, and spill.”

“All right. Fine.” Devon blew out a breath. “Your gal Piper’s been engaged twice.”

Cade sat back on the sofa. “So? Have you seen her recently? She’s hot. Truly hot. Ridiculously hot.” He stopped himself before he worked his hormones into a frenzy. “It’s not big news that two guys wanted to marry her.”

“It is when you hear that she left both guys at the altar.”

He laughed. “She left two guys at the altar?”

“Got to the church the first time but turned and ran out about two steps into ‘Here Comes the Bride.’ Got halfway down the aisle the second time, but Mom said she sort of gasped, pivoted, and bolted.” He took a long, noisy breath. “And—this is the bad part—the reigning theory is that you’re to blame.”

He bounced up on the sofa. “Me?”

“Most people think she runs because she’s afraid of being hurt like Lonnie.”

“That’s ridiculous. Piper knew we were only getting married because of Hunter. She had to realize that when I figured out he wasn’t mine, there was no reason to marry Lonnie.”

“Not if she didn’t know you weren’t Hunter’s father.”

“Right. That would mean Lonnie had lied to Piper.”

“Why not? If Lonnie was telling everybody else you were Hunter’s father, why not lie to Piper, too?”

“Her best friend?”

“The easiest way to keep a secret is not to let anybody in on the truth.”

This time his face out-and-out scrunched in confusion. “So you think Piper doesn’t know I’m not Hunter’s father?”

“
You
didn’t know until Doc smuggled those DNA results to you.”

“Yeah, but I was the guy Lonnie was using to cover up Hunter’s real father. It was important I be duped. Piper was her friend.”

“Which makes her the perfect person for Lonnie to use to make her story look real.”

“I don’t buy it.”

“Hey, whatever, bro. I’m just warning you that your partner is bat shit crazy. What you do with the information is up to you.”

Cade ran his hand down his face. No wonder she didn’t want him anywhere near her. She actually believed he could desert his own child. “This is just great.” Of course, if he took himself out of the equation, her running from weddings could actually mean that she didn’t want to make a commitment.

Just like he didn’t want to make a commitment.

And wouldn’t that make them perfect for a fling?

“Come on, Cade. You’re working with Piper for a good cause. Not only does Pap want you to find that evidence, but you’re also the smoke screen that gives me time to get Dad to sign an agreement so Mom’s divorce can be final. After that, you can leave. We have enough money we don’t need to care what happens to the store. Personally, I don’t want to see it go to an O’Riley, but if that’s what happens, that’s what happens.”

Cade fell back on the sofa again. “With no customers it doesn’t matter. Pap’s will says that if it fails to make a profit, it becomes a parking lot.”

“Then it’s a win all the way around. We get what we want, and Piper loses the store. So ride it out. Because once Dad signs the agreement, the world is ours, little brother.”

He thought of the ranch. Thought of owning his own piece of paradise. In a few weeks, his life would be perfect and Piper’s would turn to a world of shit.

He squeezed his eyes shut. “That doesn’t sound right, either.”

“Are you getting soft on her?”

He was anything but soft when he was around Piper. “It’s more that I can see that O’Riley’s means a lot to her.”

“Look, Cade, our family’s been fighting the O’Rileys for thirty years. Her mother turned half the town against us. But it was Pap who suffered. He went to that store day in and day out and kept it open through no profits just so his friends and supporters would have a place to buy bread and milk. And still, Piper’s mother bad-mouthed him. Piper’s cut from the same cloth as Karen. Do. Not. Trust. Her.”

Chapter Seven

Piper got into her car after closing the store at the end of her shift. She headed for her apartment, but on second thought took a right and drove to her mom’s.

She didn’t exactly want to tell her mother she was hot for her partner. But she didn’t want to be home alone for the rest of the night remembering the way he’d trapped her against the filing cabinet. The moment had been too intense, too wonderful, to forget.

And the feelings. All those things she’d never felt for either of her fiancés. All those things she’d never even known existed.

As if she could outrun her thoughts, she scrambled up the walk, the steps to the back porch, and through the kitchen door. “Mom?”

“Back here.”

She made her way to the family room where her mom sat in her recliner watching one of her favorite shows. As Piper walked in, she muted the sound.

“What’s up?”

She sat on the ugly flowered sofa. “I don’t know.”

Karen laughed. “It’s not easy working with your enemy, is it?”

Piper winced. “I knew it was going to be challenging. But I just didn’t realize how challenging.”

“That’s because the guy’s two steps away from being a criminal. Come on, Piper. If the stories those brothers tell about their dad are true, that he beat them and their mom…Cade’s cut from the same cloth. He’s a tough guy who always thinks he’s right. And he’s not afraid to hurt people. Look at Lonnie.”

She frowned.

Her mom’s voice softened. “He doesn’t support his own child, and by working with him I feel like you and I are supporting him, saying what he did in the past doesn’t matter…that his son doesn’t matter.”

“I’m just trying to get my share of the store.”

Her mom shifted on her recliner. “Yeah, well, I’ve been thinking about that too.”

Piper’s gaze flew to her mother’s. “You think I should quit? Lose half the store?”

“Just the opposite. I think you should make
him
quit.”

“What?”

“The day of the will reading, you told me that if Cade left, the entire store went to you.”

Piper nodded.

“Well, I think there’s a reason Richard put that in. I think deep down he knew the store belonged with us.”

“Really?”

“I think he left the other half of the store to Cade, the Donovan from out of town, because he knew Cade wouldn’t stay.”

Cade
had
told her he wanted to buy the ranch where he worked as foreman…as soon as his commitment to the store was done. “You think Richard wanted O’Riley’s to go to us?”

“I think leaving half to Cade was his way of saving face. He didn’t out-and-out leave the store to you, because that would be admitting he cheated your dad. So I think he put in that clause for Cade to get a shot at owning half of it, knowing Cade would leave, saving face even as he made things right.”

“I don’t know, Mom.”

“Does Cade seem like he belongs?”

“He never comes out of the office.”

She leaned back in her recliner. “I rest my case. He doesn’t want to be here. He works on a ranch in Montana. He’s a cowboy. Hell, he still wears that obnoxious hat.”

Piper held back a grimace. Her mom thought the hat was obnoxious. She thought the hat was sexy. Really sexy. Hot, hot, sexy.

Oh, Lord. She really had to stop thinking about him.

“Give him a nudge, Piper. The boy wants to go. We want him gone. Even Richard knew he’d run.”