Authors: Shauna Allen
“You think I might borrow the computer in your office for a few minutes? I need to, uh, check my email.”
“Sure. No problem.”
“Cool.” Michael grinned like the cat that ate the canary.
Jed tried to make his escape back to his office to enjoy the rest of his meal in peace.
“Jed?”
He turned and nearly bumped into Muffet. “What’s up?”
She backed up a step, avoiding the pizza in his hand. “Sorry. You wanted to see me?”
“Right.” He indicated for her to follow him. “I had some stuff for you.” He found a file in his desk and handed her the manila folder. “For the books. I didn’t want to forget it.”
She accepted it, careful not to touch his hand. “Thanks.” She turned to go.
“Kyle?” He lowered his voice.
She stopped and looked at him again. “Yes?” Her voice caught.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Her eyes widened. “Forgetting something? Am I?”
He caressed her face with his eyes. “Aren’t you?”
She shrugged and bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know.”
God, he wanted to kiss her again. Every inch of her. “Your ears? Do you still want to do it?”
She hitched a breath. “Do it . . .” She glanced down then back up. “Yes. I do. Let me finish up and I’ll get with you in a little while.”
He was able to tattoo a couple of customers and try to get a little paper work done before he thought about Muffet’s ears again. He finally sat with a tired sigh and clicked on the computer. As he set about trying to get his things in order so he could leave for the weekend, he quickly realized something was very wrong. He clicked again. The file was corrupted. He rubbed a hand across his head.
His entire last month’s numbers, both payables and receivables, had been lost. And before he’d made a backup. He clicked again just to be sure. It was gibberish. What the hell had happened?
He stood up and yelled for Mike.
The big guy lumbered in. “Yeah? What’s up?”
“You were the last one in here using my computer, right?”
Mike nodded, his eyes wide and innocent. “Sure. Checked my email. My mom says hi, by the way.” He smiled.
Jed rubbed his face with his hand. “Was it acting funny at all? Did it freeze up? Give any error codes? Anything?”
Mike’s brows furrowed. “Uh, no. Nothing. Why?”
“Shit. Because all my accounts for the month are gone. Totally corrupted. Muffet’s gonna kill me.”
“Ah, she won’t kill you. Though the month is almost over. This weekend is it. Whatcha gonna do, boss?”
Jed saw his lakeside weekend slipping away before his eyes. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to stay here and help her fix it.”
“Oh.” Mike pinched his chin in thought. “Or . . . no. Bad idea.”
He shot him a suspicious look. “What’s a bad idea?”
“Well, taking Miz O’Neill with you to the lake. Probably a horrible idea, right?” He scratched his huge head. “Although, she
can
work almost anywhere with that little laptop of hers.”
“I don’t know.” He’d been looking forward to the peace and quiet. Not a working weekend with a constant hard-on.
“Yeah, like I said, bad idea. Forget I said anything.”
He was saved from having to think too hard on it when Kyle showed up at the door. “Hey. If you have time, I’m finished up now.”
He nodded. “I have time. I’ll meet you over there.”
He met her by the piercing station. She sat ramrod straight in the black leather chair. “All right. Do it.”
“Wait a minute. You need to pick some earrings first.” He held the tray in front of her.
She perused the selection for a moment, then pointed to some simple, round blue stones. “Those will be fine. Just do it, Jed. Get it over with.” Man, he hoped she wasn’t like this about sex.
He cleansed her ear and marked the spots he wanted to pierce with a marker. He loaded the piercing gun with the earrings. “You sure about this, Muffet?”
She looked at him with something akin to dread in her eyes. “I’m sure. Go.”
He held the gun to her ear and she squeezed her eyes shut. He took a breath and smiled. He counted to ten just to make her sweat. She didn’t move a muscle. “Has anyone ever told you that you have the sexiest little ass, Muffet?”
Her eyes flew open in surprise as he pulled the trigger and the earring darted through. She yelped, a small, surprised sound, and stared at him. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“That wasn’t so bad.” She smiled and he felt a little quiver in the region of his heart. She was so cute.
“Okay. One down, one to go.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I can take it.”
He admired her gusto. He loaded up the gun again and held it to her other ear. Again, she squeezed her eyes shut tight.
“By the way”—he readjusted his aim—“if you think that kiss at the restaurant was a one-time thing, you’re sadly mistaken, baby.”
Again, her eyes opened, but she didn’t flinch as the earring popped through. She studied him with no readable expression on her face.
“You’re all done here, Muffet.” He put down the gun and pulled off his latex gloves. “You did good.” He pushed her hair further behind her ears. “Looks nice.”
She continued to watch him.
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.” Eventually, she turned to look at herself in the mirror. A giddy smile lit her face. “Thank you, Jed!”
“You’re welcome.”
As he watched her examine her earrings, something so mundane, yet so new and thrilling to her, he made a split decision. Probably a bad one. “Hey, Muffet.”
She turned to him, a smile still on her face. “Yeah?”
“Have you ever been away from the country club and out to the country?”
Kyle watched her mother flip defiantly through the bridal magazine from her perch on the couch, her foot tapping an angry rhythm. The silence was deafening.
“Mother? Aren’t you going to say something? Yell, scream, tell me how disappointed you are?”
She was used to her mother’s inane chattering and her angry rants when things didn’t go her way. She knew her time was coming when Alexandra O’Neill found out that the big country club wedding of the year was off between her daughter and the Vice President slash hand-selected groom
du jour
. But this, the ice cold silent treatment, was something new for her. Her anger must’ve reached new bounds.
Her mother slapped down the magazine. “How
could
you, Kyle? That’s what I simply don’t understand. Charles is a good man. A decent man who loves you. And you threw him away like yesterday’s garbage.” She stood and headed to the kitchen. “Do you have anything to drink around here?”
“There’s a bottle of wine I think.” She waited while her mother poured herself a glass. It was only nine-thirty in the morning, early for a drink, but who was watching the time in such moments of family crisis?
Her mother came back, glass in hand, and leaned against the wall. She stared at her daughter like she was trying to puzzle together an alien species. “I swear I don’t think I’ll ever understand you, Kyle.”
Kyle shook her head. “No, I don’t suppose so, Mom. But I didn’t hurt Charles on purpose. He’s just not the right man for me. Can’t you understand that?” She searched her mother’s eyes for a shred of empathy.
For a split-second, it looked like she might’ve tried to comprehend, but then the moment was lost. “No, Kyle. I cannot understand. Charles is the perfect man for you. In time you will see that.” She heaved a weary breath and sipped her wine. “I feel like such a failure as a mother. First you, now your brother and this Daphne girl.” She shot Kyle a disgusted glare. “Has Bryan told you he’s bought her a ring?”
Kyle felt her heart lighten for the first time that morning. “No. He has? That’s great.”
Her mother tilted her head as tears filled her eyes. “What’s so great about it? Now I’ll have a single daughter and a son marrying some lowbred woman with a child.” She set down her glass and picked up her purse. “Imagine me, a grandmother to another man’s child. It simply won’t do.”
Kyle watched her mom go and felt like she was going to vomit. This should be a happy time for a family. Okay, so she had broken her engagement. But her brother was happy and marrying a woman he loved and bringing a child into the family. A child! The thought made her smile. How could her mother be so callous and selfish? God, she could not,
would not,
become her mother. She would do whatever it took to prevent being the proverbial apple falling from that tree.
She immediately picked up the phone and dialed her brother.
“Hello?” He sounded tired.
There was a woman’s voice in the background and the chatter of a child with the banging of a loud toy. It was music to her ears. “Good morning, Bry.”
“Kyle?”
“Yes. How are you?”
“I’m good. You?” He sounded puzzled to be hearing from her. They seldom talked outside of family functions anymore. Something she hoped to rectify.
“I’m fine.” She took a breath, wondering where to start. “So, listen, Bry. Mom just came by . . .”
“Oh, say no more.” That seemed to break the ice and his tone sounded much more relaxed. Again, she heard the woman in the background, laughing this time.
“Is that Daphne?” she couldn’t resist asking.
“It is.” He sounded guarded now. Obviously he’d been reamed by the parents one too many times.
“Mom told me you were getting engaged? Have you asked her?”
He paused. “Not yet.”
“Well, I wanted to let you know that I love you and I support you. And I don’t care what Mom and Dad say, I want you to be happy. So I think you should ask her. Today. And I hope she says yes. I can’t wait to meet her.”
He blew out a long breath. “Wow. Really?”
She smiled. “Really.”
“Where has this Kyle been hiding all my life?”
Her free hand touched her earlobe and her thoughts automatically turned to Jed. “I’m not sure. But I guess she’s here to stay.”
“Well I’m glad. Thanks for calling. It means a lot.”
“You’re welcome.”
She hung up and wondered what to do next. Okay, clarification, she’d been obsessing about what to do ever since Jed had pinned her up against her Prius and kissed her brains out. And not just any kiss, no sir.
The
kiss. The most perfect kiss in history as far as she was concerned. And he’d started in on her neck! Oh, man.
By the way, if you think that kiss at the restaurant was a one-time thing, you’re sadly mistaken, baby.
She sagged back onto her couch. “What am I going to do?” Other than hope he’s not bluffing? She rolled her eyes.
Her cell phone rang, startling her. She peeked at the caller ID. Jed’s name made her stomach churn nervously. He’d be calling for an answer. Oh no. She didn’t have one.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Muffet.”
“Good morning, Jed. Sleep well?”
Good Heavens, did that sound like she was flirting?
“I slept just fine. And you?” There was a smile in his voice.
“Fine,” she lied. Memories of his kiss made it hard to find peace.
“So . . .” His deep voice skimmed along her skin, bringing goose bumps.
“So?”
“I kind of need an answer. I’m packing up to go. You coming or not, Muffet?”
He’d thrown her for a loop last night with his kiss. It was like going for the jugular when he extended the chance of a lifetime to be alone with him over the weekend at his lake house. Why he invited her, she’d never know. Well, she did know. It was to fix his books. Some mystery virus had eaten everything from last month on his drive and he’d sheepishly told her that he hadn’t made backups like she’d told him to. Bad boy. She’d told him she needed to think about it and see if she had plans, yada yada yada, when really she’d been absolutely blindsided.
Everything Holy under the Son!
Could she handle being alone with him? After
the
kiss? And his blatant threat to do more of the same?
“Muffet?” He interrupted her flailing thoughts. “What? You chicken? I thought we’d established you weren’t afraid to be alone with me. Plus we’ll be working, remember?”
Oh, there he went making sense. She could use the break. And she wanted to go. But as she remembered her mother’s words, her mind was firmly made up.
Now I’ll have a single daughter and a son marrying some low-bred woman with a child. It simply won’t do.
She would not be her mother’s daughter. No way, no how. That was far more dangerous to her heart than being with Jed.
“You know what?” she said finally. “I think I will go with you if you’re serious. I’ve never been out there and I could use a little fresh air.”
“Atta girl. I’ll pick you up in two hours.”
Kyle heard the rumble of Jed’s Mustang and she rushed to put her things by the front door. She pulled back the blinds and peeked outside as he jumped out and headed toward her. He was dressed in loose shorts, a faded T-shirt and a backwards baseball cap. She glanced down at her own denim shorts and tank top.
Here goes nothing.
Nerves flooded her gut as his knock sounded at the door.
She patted her loose hair, wondered if she should’ve put on more makeup—too late now—and opened the door. “Hey.”
His eyes were concealed behind steel gray Oakleys. “Hey. You ready to go?”
She reached for her overnight bag, laptop case, and her purse. “Yep.”
He grabbed it all from her except for the purse. “Here. Let me get it.”
“Thanks.” She followed him down the steps and to the car. She waited while he loaded everything into the trunk, then he opened her door.
He shot her a half smile. “Have you been taking care of your ears like I taught you? Sure wouldn’t want all my hard work to go to waste if you get an infection in those pretty little earlobes of yours.”
She turned her head to show him. “Yes. Just like you told me. They’re perfect.”
He touched the earrings, brushing her skin. “Sure are.”
She looked up at him, but all she saw was her own flushed face reflected back in his sunglasses.
“All right, let’s get outta here.” He smiled once again, apparently unaffected as she was by the touch. “You hungry? Have you eaten lunch yet?”
She shook her head and slid into the warm interior. “No, I haven’t eaten.”
“We’ll stop somewhere on the way out of town.” He shut the door and walked around to get in. He started the car, its rumble seeming louder than usual for some reason. He put it in reverse and backed out into the street.
She didn’t know what to say to him now. His presence filled the car in a
big
way. His body, his scent, his aura. Even his personality as he gestured at other drivers and flipped through the radio stations until he settled on something he liked.
“Ah, finally.” He smiled. “We can get the Led out!” He turned up the dial and the car filled with the sounds of a wailing guitar as he floored it on the highway.
“What?” she asked over the noise. “Lead? What are you talking about?”
He held up a finger to silence her as though he couldn’t believe she had the audacity to ask such a question. She shrugged and glanced out the window.
When the song ended, he turned down the radio. “Are you serious, Muffet?”
She gave him a dry look. “About what?”
“Do you not know who Led Zeppelin is? Could you possibly be
that
sheltered?”
Ouch
. “Of course I know who Led Zeppelin is.” It took a moment, but it clicked. “Oh. Is that who was on the radio just now? Yuck.”
He didn’t comment.
“Well excuse me for having different tastes in music.”
He pulled into a fast food parking lot and stopped in the drive-through. “Let’s just agree never to talk about music again, okay, Muffet?” He turned to her and yanked his sunglasses off. “But let’s just get one thing straight. Led Zeppelin is the greatest rock band to have ever lived. Period. If it weren’t for them, none of your squirrelly little boy bands would be in existence. So they deserve a little respect. Okay?”
She nodded. “Sure. Fine.”
He shoved his glasses back on. “Now what do you want to eat?”
He ordered and they drove on in silence. Kyle nibbled her chicken sandwich and fries and marveled at how he could wolf down a burger in four bites. And then another. And then polish it off with a large milkshake.
“Where do you put all that?” she wondered.
“What?”
“All that food? You eat like Godzilla.”
He shrugged and changed lanes. “I didn’t eat breakfast.”
“Ah.” But her attention was drawn to the movement of his forearm and the Koi fish tattoo that filled it. She reached across his body briefly to trace its fin. “This is pretty.”
He flinched. “Yeah, thanks.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Noble did that one.”
“Really?” She leaned in for a closer look, feeling brave. He’d kissed her after all, and he was preoccupied driving the car.
The fish was vibrant red and orange and seemed to be swimming up a current on his arm with an expression nothing short of nobility on its face.
He reached over as if to cover it, leaving him to drive with only the one hand.
She looked at his profile. “Why a koi fish?”
“Noble suggested it. He’s big on symbolism.”
“What does it symbolize?”
She could see him wrestling with something in his mind. He ran his tongue along his top teeth then answered. “Well, koi fish traditionally symbolize someone who is a nonconformist. Someone who swims against the current.” He glanced at her. “That’s me obviously.” He turned back to the road and seemed to think through the rest of his words. “They also symbolize strength after adversity.”
She waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “Adversity?”
“I’d had a rough year.”
“You mean your father dying?”
He took a deep breath. “Among other things.”
“So you got the tattoo to symbolize your free spirit
and
your strength. Good for you.”
He exited and turned onto a two-lane highway. “And to cover a fuck-up. Not so good for me.” He didn’t give her a chance to ask. “It’s a long story, Muffet. For another time.”
“Well, I can kind of understand.” She smiled at his look of disbelief. “Not the nonconformist part. Actually, I’ve been about as conformist as you get. I meant the adversity.” She glanced down at her lap, wondering why she’d even brought it up. Struggling to break out of her shell and away from family expectations was nothing compared to his father dying. “Forget it,” she mumbled.
He stayed quiet a moment. “We all have shit to overcome, Muffet.” He waited until she looked back at him. “It couldn’t have been easy hitting the pavement on your own when you had a cushy gig with your old man. Why’d you do it?”
Wow. He’d hit her emotional nail right on the head. How did he do that? How could he possibly know?
He shrugged. “If you’d rather not talk about it . . .”
“No. It’s not that. I guess no one’s ever really asked.”
He glanced at her sharply. “No one?”
She shook her head.
“Not even your family when you left? Or loverboy?”
“Nope.”
“Damn.” He didn’t say more as he concentrated on driving and gave her time.
Gradually, the words came. “I’ve tried to emulate my father my whole life. I’ve always known I’d never compare to my perfect, beauty queen mom. Or my perfect all-American jock brother.” She peered over at him but he was watching the road. “But I could darn sure do numbers. So, I followed in his footsteps at the University. And when I graduated top of the class he had to hire me at the firm, right?” She laughed ruefully. “Too bad that did nothing to get me the approval I was seeking.” No singing words of praise. No affection. No nothing.