Going All In (13 page)

She shuddered as she thought of Wade living like this for six months. If Kevin were here, she’d throw her arms around his neck and hug him silly for not only giving Wade a job, but also a place to live.

Wade climbed down from the truck, circled around to her side, and opened the door.

“Where did you sleep the other night?” she asked. “The night before we worked together?”

He scratched the back of his head and grinned. “In a sleeping bag under the tailgate of my truck.”

“What?” He laughed as her jaw came unhinged. “It was pouring down rain that night!”

He ran his finger and thumb across his forehead, then dropped his hand to his waist. He seemed to be working hard to hold back his laugh when he said, “That’s why I slept
under
the tailgate. I still got wet, but not as much as if I’d been out in the open.” When she continued to stare at him in utter disbelief, he shrugged. “My only other option was to crawl into a tent and spoon with one of them, so…” His grin broadened. “Thinking you bit off more than you can chew?”

“Absolutely.” Realizing how that sounded, she grabbed his hand and squeezed. “But not the way you think.” As he continued to stare, half bemused and half confused, she blew out a breath and went for the truth. “I’ve traveled the globe, but you’re so much worldlier and experienced than me.” She glanced away. “In everything, I’m sure. So yeah, I’m definitely in over my head, but so far, I’ve enjoyed the ride, and I’m looking forward to exploring more of your world.”

She risked returning her gaze to him and found he’d stopped breathing and moving and didn’t even blink for the longest time. It was hard to read his thoughts because his expression rarely gave anything away, but she hoped he hadn’t missed the sexual reference she’d tossed in about him being more experienced. As well as looking forward to exploring more.

After a moment, he blinked a few times and said, “I’ll do what I can to share my expertise with you.”

The reply was more innuendo than blatant come-on, but she’d come to expect that from him. She’d noticed with the guys on his crew, he was direct and matter-of-fact, but with her, he always seemed to dance around the periphery of what he truly meant. Did he do it intentionally and with all women, she wondered, or just with her?

“Do you want help getting down, or have you got this?”

He didn’t seem to be teasing or mocking her, and her heart warmed at having someone understand her motivation for doing small, seemingly inconsequential things for herself. When she felt the need.

“Nope,” she said with a smile. “I’ve got nothing to prove here, so help would be great.”

She turned sideways in her seat, making it easy for him to reach in and pick her up. His grip was strong and sure and her elevator ride down took only a second, but she took advantage of the opportunity to wrap her hands over his shoulders and enjoy the feel of hard man under the soft flannel.

Her feet touched the ground too soon, and she wasn’t ready to break contact yet, so she pressed her palms into the solid wall of his chest, then ran them up to his neck and back down to the top of his jeans.

Using her eyes, she pleaded for him to kiss her. His nostrils flared and his throat bunched as he swallowed, but rather than following through on the kiss he obviously wanted as much as her, he took her hand, slammed the door shut, and headed toward the campfire at a brisk pace.

W
ade’s friend, Tyler, was rummaging through a cooler when he noticed Wade and Callie approaching. “Hey, Wadell, you finally made it.” He dug down into the cooler, grabbed another beer, and tossed the can to Wade.

Wade snatched it out of the air like a baseball player catching a fly ball and leaned in close to Callie. “You repeat that to anyone, especially Kevin, I’ll be forced to exact revenge.”

Callie poured on a sugary-sweet smile and met his threat with one of her own. “I guess you better never do anything to make me mad.”

His pained expression had her super-sweet smile melting into a happy laugh. “You do realize I’m a guy, right? We screw up. All the time.” He shook his head and sighed. “I’m doomed.”

Tyler, keeping the cooler open for business, said, “Hey, Callie. Want a beer?”

Even though she’d met Wade’s friends at the Blue Lagoon, she’d been nervous about spending time with them. There was a big difference in being part of a crowd at a large club where conversation was next to impossible and being in a confined setting. But she should’ve known better than to be concerned, and the last vestiges of fear slipped away on an exhale. “I’m fine for now, but thanks for asking.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.” While Tyler dropped the lid back into place and took a seat on a log by the fire, Wade watched Matt and Garrett argue about the correct way to cook fish on the grill.

She had the feeling he’d watched them do this before, because his lips lifted into a smile and his eyes shone affectionately, as if recalling a fond memory. After a moment, he shifted his attention back to Tyler. “Where’s Alex?”

Tyler nodded to a block building off to their left. “Taking a quick shower.”

Her gaze slid to the building, and unbidden images of Wade shedding his clothes and stepping under the spray popped into her mind. Heat spread across her neck and up her cheeks when he tugged at her hand. Thank God he wasn’t a mind reader, because she’d die of embarrassment if he found out he’d become a permanent fixture in her fantasies.

“The wind is blowing to our backs here,” he said, leading her around the right side of the fire, “which means the smoke will blow away from us.”

“Okay.” She glanced at the low logs scattered around the fire and thought about the shadow she’d seen from the bridge. An alligator could sneak up from behind and eat them whole, and they’d never know what happened. A shiver racked her body and had her scooting closer to Wade for protection.

“You can sit in the chair with me,” Wade said, grabbing a lawn chair leaning against the stack of firewood. “I’ll help keep you warm.”

She wasn’t concerned about the cold—just being in his presence kept her internal temperature hovering at the scorching mark—but the thought of being chomped in half by a nasty set of teeth terrified her.

She glanced around at the tents sitting on the ground and the logs that seemed to have gotten their fair share of use. Obviously, these guys weren’t afraid of such trivial things—Wade slept on the ground under his truck, for heaven’s sake—so she kept her fears to herself and allowed him to continue to think she was cold. “Okay. Thanks.”

Public displays of affection—heck, all displays of affection—had been noticeably absent in her parents’ relationship, and she was self-conscious about sitting on his lap, a gesture that seemed too intimate for their current status. But a quick glance at his friends revealed none of them were paying Wade or her any attention.

Garrett and Matt had settled their dispute and were chatting in regular voices. She spotted Alex ambling across the parking lot, towel tossed over his shoulder, hands tucked into his pockets, appearing to not have a care in the world. And Tyler stared at the hypnotic flames, seemingly a million miles away, lost to his own thoughts.

Wade extended his hand as he took a seat, so she ignored her reservations and allowed him to pull her down with him. It took a few minutes and lots of adjustments, but she eventually found a comfortable position angled across his lap, her back cradled in the crook of his arm.

She’d never spent time with a group of men, and it also took a while to get accustomed to the way they interacted with each other—which was very different than the way Tiffany, Jen, and she spoke to each other. The men thrived on rattling each other’s cages—all good-natured fun, nothing malicious—with Wade taking the most hits. The hottest topic: him sleeping under his tailgate and the lightweight he’d been since that night.

“You had to work with this sorry bastard on Monday, right?” Alex asked.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Wade roll his eyes. “Yep.”

“I bet that was fun,” Tyler added sarcastically. “He can’t hold his liquor for shit.”

“I can handle
liquor
fine. The stuff you have isn’t liquor.” His eyes brightened and he glanced at Callie, then to the guys. “She has a home remedy that works like a charm. I don’t think I would’ve survived the day without her Dramamine and Gatorade.”

Tyler’s head snapped up and a wide grin split his face. “Laney does the same thing…” His expression changed from joy to sorrow as the words fell off and gaping silence filled the air.

Wade and Alex exchanged glances. Then Wade said, “Five Guys helped too.” He was more animated and enthusiastic than normal, and she suspected he was trying to pull his friend out of the black hole that swallowed him up before their eyes.

Going along with his plan, she laughed and said, “A heavy dose of grease normally does.” She grimaced and ducked her head. “Believe it or not, Jen, Tiffany, and I have been known to hit Waffle House in the middle of the night.”

“Oh, no, you didn’t!” Wade’s lousy impression of a Jersey girl had his friends—including Tyler—erupting into laughter.

Wade’s chest expanded with relief as he took a deep breath, so she kept the conversation going. “I know, right?” She dipped her eyes, then batted her lashes. “If we had a good-looking cook to fix us bacon, eggs, and greasy hash browns, we wouldn’t have to resort to such desperate measures.”

Three hands shot up around the fire as Wade’s friends, with the exception of Tyler, eagerly offered their services.

“I’ll fix pancakes,” Alex offered.

“I’ll see your pancakes and add waffles,” Matt interjected.

Garrett kicked his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankles. “Sweetheart, I’ll fix whatever you want.” His smile was slow and easy and tempting even before he added the wink. “Give me a call.”

Sheesh, good thing Jen wasn’t here. She’d be working out a schedule.

Wade didn’t make any outrageous offers, but the arm wrapped around her waist tightened, silently staking his claim on her, while his friends made their case as to why they’d be the better choice, at the same time disputing the others’ unique talents and abilities.

After several moments, Tyler resurfaced from the ugly well of despair he’d fallen into and briefly joined the conversation before switching his attention to Wade. “I’ve got the boat and the magnetometer lined up for Saturday morning. We need to be at the dock by six.”

Wade hardened like stone and a deep growl escaped his throat. “Bro, I’m telling you. Your mystery boat isn’t out there.” He huffed and shook his head. “Someone would’ve found it by now if it was.”

Tyler was far less intimidated by Wade’s glare than Callie would’ve been. With a confident smile and nonchalant shrug, he said, “They’re not looking in the right spot.”

She didn’t know these men well, but she had the suspicion being best friends hadn’t kept them from landing a few solid punches over the years. Based on the anger that continued to build and spill out of Wade, and the less than receptive response from Tyler, she imagined this could easily become one of those instances.

Hoping a slight change of subject would diffuse a quickly escalating situation, she said, “I can’t imagine diving in this cold weather. Although, I’m not a good judge of these types of things, because I wouldn’t dive on a balmy, summer day.” She shivered. “That would require me getting on a boat, going out into the ocean, and getting into the water with creatures that would make a quick snack of me.” She shuddered again and checked around her feet for alligators as she huddled in closer to Wade.

“The cold isn’t a problem,” Tyler explained. “We have dry suits, so we don’t even get wet.”

How could they not get wet while swimming in the ocean?

She turned to Wade, expecting him to smile at Tyler’s joke, but instead, he nodded and said, “He’s not kidding. The suits zip around the neck and ankles, they have hoodies to protect their heads, booties for their feet, and their masks cover most of their faces. They wear their clothes under their suits, and when they come out of the water, they’re completely dry.”

He narrowed his gaze and slanted a glare at Tyler. “Dry suits, however, don’t protect against stupidity. And diving when you’re trying to thread a damned needle between storm systems is downright ass-hat stupid.”

Callie released a long-suffering sigh. Her plan had worked for a minute, but she should’ve known Wade wouldn’t be easily distracted. Unwilling to give up without her own fight, she made another attempt. “None of that would be a problem for me because I’m a total land lover. I don’t even like seafood.”

Wade tensed again, then released a deep breath and relaxed beneath her. “So you don’t like lobster?” He laughed a little and tried to make the question sound like a joke, but there was something serious going on behind his eyes.

Her lip curled reflexively at the question. “Yuck. I’ll sometimes eat salmon or shrimp, but only if it’s cleaned really well.”

His eyes darkened and narrowed in focus. “What about filet mignon?”

“Ummm…” His line of questioning was strange, but he no longer appeared to be joking, so she worked hard to remember the last time she’d eaten any kind of steak at all, let alone filet. “I like it okay, but I don’t eat much red meat. I mostly stick with chicken.”