Authors: Janie Mason
“Where is it?”
Gigi
didn’t recognize the name of the dealership.
“An eastern suburb of Cincinnati.
We could lock up and go now if you’d like.”
Rafe
swiveled the office chair and waited for her reply.
Gigi
hated to give up her evening, but she needed a reliable car.
And her friends had been generous to do all this research.
The least she could do was check it out.
“Okay, and the drive-thru burgers are on me.”
If she bought this car, dinner had better be off a dollar menu.
Chapter Eight
Al flipped his battered cell phone closed and paused in the school hallway, facing Sean. “What’s happening with Butch?
Is he going to make grades this week?”
Sean checked his watch. “He’s taking an algebra quiz right now.
The school’s online grade reporting is really helping me to stay up to the minute.”
Al’s brow furrowed.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Christ man, I was getting there
.
“I worked with him last night and he did pretty well.
I’ll know for sure by four o’clock, but I’m hoping he might be good to play this week.”
Al flipped his phone open and hit a button.
“I hope you’re right,” he grumbled, then put the phone to his ear and headed toward the door to the parking lot.
Sean shook his head in disgust, not knowing what he’d done to deserve Al’s bitterness.
No
, “Thanks for helping him with his school work; you’re going above and beyond and doing one
helluva
job, Sean.”
What did he have to do to gain the guy’s respect?
Win the
frickin
’ Super Bowl?
Fuck it
.
He hunched the strap of his bag up his shoulder and headed to the athletic office to retrieve his mail.
“No, I’m not coming back to work for you.”
Gigi
faced the far wall and Sean couldn’t help but overhear her side of the phone conversation.
Should he clear his throat to let her know she wasn’t alone?
He pulled the few items out of his box, still deciding, as she responded to the caller.
“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested?”
She listened for a moment before adding, “Don’t you dare do anything to mess this up for me.”
Sean turned her direction, frowning.
Was she talking to an old boyfriend?
Why would anyone want to cause problems for her?
Well, whoever she was speaking with, it sounded as if they had an antagonistic relationship.
“You’re wrong.” She’d lowered the volume of her voice but kept its intensity.
“And speaking of work, I have some to do.
Goodbye.”
She pressed the receiver gently into the cradle.
Sean wanted to alert her to his presence before he
startled
her.
“Is this a bad time?”
She swiveled in her chair, her expression one of surprise.
Her cheeks were flushed and he could see her eyes glistening.
Instinctively, he went from curious to furious.
He wanted to pound the SOB.
Sean rounded her desk and was about to kneel in front of her when she popped up from her chair.
She yanked a tissue from the box on her desk, turned away and dabbed at her eyes.
“What’s wrong?
How I can help you?”
He would have asked who she wanted him to pulverize, be he didn’t want to let on about how much he’d overheard.
“No, it’s just my stupid allergies.
Everything’s fine.”
She tossed the tissue in the trash, met his gaze and attempted a smile.
It was weak by normal
Gigi
standards.
“I don’t believe that.
Someone has upset you.”
He grasped her upper arms and searched the depths of her glistening green eyes.
Although his protective nature had engaged, he had the good sense to drop his hands and step back.
“I won’t push, but I’m always available if you need someone to listen.”
“I’m fine, really.
Thanks.”
Her shoulders visibly relaxed.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
Obviously she didn’t want to discuss the call.
At least her voice sounded steadier.
“I wanted to say thanks for the body shop referrals.
I found them on my desk this morning.
It’s not—” Sean was interrupted by the fifth period tardy bell.
“My friend Heidi gave them to me,”
Gigi
said after the blaring ended.
“I think you know her.”
The only Heidi he knew was Heidi Rafferty.
Gigi
was friends with her?
He’d assumed
Gigi
lived here in
Newtown
, but Heidi and
Rafe
lived in
Greenville
.
“Heidi Rafferty?
Yeah, I’ve met her a of couple of times at the garage.
Do you live in
Greenville
?”
Gigi’s
coloring was returning to normal.
The small-talk seemed to be taking her mind off her upsetting phone conversation.
“My apartment is above Reggie’s Flowers and Gifts.
Heidi mentioned that you live in
Greenville
, too.”
The flower shop was probably two minutes from his house.
He couldn’t believe he’d never seen her around town.
“Yeah.
I just moved there in June.
Too bad we can’t car pool to work, but I have to stay late for practice.”
She laughed.
“But I’ll be glad to give you a ride when you have to take your car in to be repaired.”
“Well, actually I wanted to talk to you about that.”
Gigi’s
happy expression faded to one of concern.
Sean instinctively grabbed her hands in reassurance.
“Don’t worry,” he assured her.
“I just wanted to say you don’t need to worry about paying for repairs.”
“Oh, Sean, I can’t let you pay for the damage.
I can submit an insurance claim if it’s an expensive repair.”
Her fingers felt chilled and he squeezed them gently.
“There’s no need for any repairs.
You obviously tried to be careful because there was no indentation.
The yellow paint buffed off with a little elbow grease and wax.”
He’d barely gotten the words out before
Gigi
threw her arms around him.
“Oh, thank you, thank you.”
As she hugged him, Sean could feel the tension leaving her body, although tension of a different sort swelled within
him
.
Did she know how much he enjoyed the feel of her breasts pressed against his chest?
“I’m so relieved.
You see, my clunker finally bit the dust, and I had to buy another car last night.”
As she continued to hug him, Sean let his hands rest lightly on the small of her back.
He had to remind himself that letting them slide down to squeeze her ass was a definite no-no.
“This is the absolute best news.
Thank you so much.”
With her body melting against his, that familiar, unappeasable ache settled heavy in his groin.
Blood pounded in his ears, and his self-control flashed and burned like flames set to drought-ravaged woodlands.
Why he’d been fighting this overpowering attraction to
Gigi
, he couldn’t recall.
Holding her felt so right.
So...essential.
All other thought fizzled as he bent and buried his face in her fiery hair.
Chapter Nine
Gooseflesh spread in a wave down
Gigi’s
body as Sean’s breath warmed her neck.
Shivers rippled along her arms, and her heartbeat danced a riotous rhythm inside her chest.
Instinct had her tilting her head just enough to offer him fuller access to the side of her neck.
As his lips met her skin, dizzying ecstasy forced the breath from her lungs.
She wanted more.
More
.
Moist kisses singed a hot trail down to her squared neckline, from ear to collar bone to throat.
Gigi
had enjoyed a man’s heat before, but no man had ever had her poised so close to total surrender with a few simple kisses.
Fear at that realization shot through her veins, and she pushed him away in self-preservation.
Her chest heaved as if she’d run ten miles, and her thudding heart threatened to burst.
“What?”
Sean sputtered and blinked in confusion, which tore at her conscience.
Very good question
.
One moment she’s plastered against him issuing silent invitations then suddenly she’s shoving him away.
“We can’t do this.”
A building-wide announcement over the P.A. system saved her from further explanation.
Sean spun to look at the clock, running both hands through his hair.
He bent slightly, head bowed with his hands resting on his knees.
His arousal had been as obvious as hers, and
Gigi
felt lower than her current bank balance for sending him mixed signals.
After a few moments he straightened.
The regret in his expression was unmistakable.
“You’re right and I apologize,” he said.
“I was totally out of line.
If you file a grievance, I’ll understand.”
Shock slammed into her with unexpected force.
“No, Sean.
I would never do that.”
She wanted to touch him, to set him at ease, but now she knew the danger of any physical connection between them.
He grabbed his things from where he’d set them on the corner of her desk and met her gaze as he backed away.
“You have my word, that won’t happen again.”
His words were meant to reassure, but instead they left
Gigi
feeling as if she’d thrown away a generous slice of happiness.
“Sean, I’m glad I caught you.”
In the dim light of the parking lot, L.R. power-walked toward him with enough determination to scare a hired thug.
His gut clenched and his grip tightened on the edge of the car’s open door.
Had
Gigi
changed her mind and complained to the school principal about his sexual advances?
“Are you headed home?”
He relaxed at her non-confrontational tone and tried to gather his wits.
Gigi
had said she wasn’t going to file a grievance, and he’d believed her.
He was just so exhausted he wasn’t thinking straight.
This evening’s practice had been productive, and Butch was doing better thanks to their hard work, but he was physically wiped.