About That Kiss:A Heartbreaker Bay Novel(15)

She looked out the window and didn't speak for a while. "I'm guessing  you don't usually get a lot of quiet time like this on the job," she  finally said.

"No." He didn't call her out on the change of subject. She wanted her secrets? Fine. That would keep his own safe as well.

"Your job can be pretty dangerous," she said.

"Only if I get stupid."

She looked at him. "I can't imagine you doing anything stupid on the  job. You're sharp and focused, and the very best at what you do."

He was pretty sure the words weren't supposed to turn him on. "And you know this how?" he asked.

"Archer speaks highly of you. So does Spence. A lot of people talk about you, actually. Like Molly."

"Molly's my sister. She's not going to talk shit."

"Oh, she talks shit," Kylie said on a laugh. "Just not about your work skills."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "And what shit might that be?"

She smiled and bit her lower lip, looking away.

Oh hell no. Leaning in, he cupped her jaw and turned her face back to  his. As he studied her, he realized she was blushing again. "Okay," he  said. "I definitely want to hear this story."

"It's nothing."

"Try me," he said.

"It was last week. Girls' night out. We were going to the pub, but we  had to go for a walk first because half of us needed money from the ATM  down the street. We were laughing because Haley didn't want her receipt.  She said that sometimes you have to hit no on getting a receipt because  you don't need that kind of negativity in your life."

Joe laughed. "Let me guess. At which both Elle and Molly had heart failure."

"Yes." Kylie smiled in memory. "Anyway, once we got back to the pub and  had a few drinks, Haley said that if she didn't bat for the other team,  she'd want to ride you like a bronco all night long and that though  she's never really been sure if she believes in monogamy or not, she'd  want to keep you."

Not much surprised Joe, but he felt his brows vanish into the hair falling over his forehead.         

     



 

"Yeah," Kylie said. "And then Molly said that Haley would have to get in  line for the bronco riding part because you usually had women on the  line. But as for the keeping you part, many have tried, yet none of have  succeeded."

Joe snorted.

"So it's true," she said.

"She's talking about my feral early years," he said. "But I'm an old man now. I've slowed down some."

"You think thirty is old?" she asked.

"Not for normal people, but I put a lot of living in my first thirty years, so yeah, sometimes I feel ancient."

He'd meant it as a joke but her gaze was serious, her tone quiet. "I  knew you grew up rough even before you brought me here," she said.

"How? And if you say another girls' night, I might have to muzzle my sister."

She laughed softly. "Not a girls' night, no. But a couple of months ago,  a few of us went with Molly to your mom's grave site and left some  flowers." She broke the eye contact and looked down at her hands. "Molly  told us how she died when you were young and how your dad suffers from  PTSD so badly that there were long stretches of time when he couldn't  work. She said that you took care of the both of them."

Joe shook his head. "Molly did plenty of taking care of me too," he said and paused. "I wasn't easy."

"Well, that's a shock."

He met her gaze across the dark interior of the car. Clearly she was  trying to lighten the mood for him. Her mouth was curved but her eyes  were still serious. "Your life might have been ugly and hard, Joe," she  said, "but from the outside looking in, you had all the important  things."

"Such as?"

"Acceptance," she said. "Love."

There were few people who could wade through the bullshit that life had  to offer and find the small, necessary kernels of truth. Kylie had been  through her own sort of hell, far different than his but hell  nevertheless, and yet she was still the optimist to his cynic.

The light to his dark, he realized with not a little shock.

He reached for her hand, entwining their fingers to bring them up to his  mouth. He brushed a kiss over her knuckles, then got out of the car and  had to clench his jaw in order to not let out a litany of warnings as  Kylie got out as well.

"I can take care of myself," she said reminded him quietly.

Yeah, and that's exactly what Molly said all those years ago, right  before the nightmare that had followed. He looked into Kylie's fierce,  adventure-seeking face and swore to himself. Maybe she could take care  of herself, but he still wasn't going to take that chance. "Stick  close."

"Of course," she said with a bright smile in spite of the fact that he'd  practically growled the two words at her. "I'll do whatever you say."

And with that, she pierced his fierce concentration, making him laugh.  "If only that was really true," he said and had the pleasure of seeing  her blush again.





Chapter 9





LoveTheSmellOfNapalmInTheMorning



Kylie put on a good face for Joe, but she was no fool. The neighborhood  around them was clearly a rough one, the streets dark and dank and not  exactly welcoming.

So stick close? No problem.

There was a storm coming and the wind kicked up dust and debris, further  masking their surroundings. It was like being in her own personal  horror flick. She reached out and put a hand on Joe, fisting her fingers  in the back of his shirt. "Close enough?" she murmured.

He stilled at the touch and she felt him turn to look down at her in  surprise. Whatever he saw, he laughed at. Quietly, but his amusement was  genuine and deep as he bowed his head, shoulders shaking.

"What?"

"Your . . ." He swiveled a finger at her head and she put a hand on it.

Her wig was crooked. "Dammit."

"Give up on the wig, Kylie," he said, still grinning. "It's not a disguise."

"It's not?"

"No. I'd know you anywhere."

She tried really hard not to think about why that gave her a tingle.  Leaving the wig in place, she demanded, "Are we doing this or not?"         

     



 

His eyes darkened.

Oh boy. "You know what I mean!" She started walking toward one end of  the warehouse only to be caught up by the back of her shirt.

"This way, Slick," he said, redirecting her to the other end of the warehouse.

"Right," she said, but then hesitated at all the shadows.

"Just wait in the car with Vinnie," he said. "I'll lock it and-"

"No. I'm fine with you." And wasn't that just the shocking truth. She  was more than fine with him. With him, she felt like Wonder Woman.

When they got close, she eyed the gate surrounding the building.  "Locked," she whispered, looking it over. "And no simple lock either.  This one's keyless."

"With a side bolt," he agreed and pulled a tool from his pocket to tackle the bolt first.

"Nice," she whispered as he opened it. "I wouldn't mind learning a skill like that. Maybe you'll teach me sometime."

"Sure." He cocked an ear to the lock, spinning the dial before cursing to himself.

"Problem?" she asked.

"More like problem-esque." He ran a finger over her wig.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"I'm having a hard time concentrating. You look so different and yet the same."

Because his voice combined with his touch was turning her on, she waved  her finger in front of her face. "I'm really hot in this thing."

"You're right on that."

She huffed out a laugh. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," he murmured, voice an octave lower now and sexy as hell, as was the heated look in his eyes.

And she realized that there was something incredibly liberating about  wearing a costume or disguise and pretending to be someone else. It  allowed her to be more . . . free than she'd be otherwise. And even the  knowledge that she was acting like her mom wasn't enough to stop her.  "You really think I'm hot in this wig?"

"Actually, I think you're hot in anything," he said as he went at the  lock. "Your work aprons, the kick-ass steel-toed boots, the ripped  jeans, the dark hair, your own hair . . . it's all hot to me."

She shook her head. "Men are weird."

He stopped working and stepped in to her, nudging their bodies together,  lining them up. "You telling me you don't think it's kinda hot to  pretend to be someone else?"

She bit her lower lip and he laughed. "You do," he said in naughty accusation and made her laugh too.

But then he suddenly froze before turning around, using an arm to keep  her behind him as a guy strode down the dark street their way. Though at  first they'd appeared to be alone, Kylie could see more than a few  shadows behind him. The shadows stayed back as the guy came forward, his  hands out of his pockets and loose at his sides.