Risky Business (22 page)

His brows pinched. “Is that serious? I mean,
you
. Are you serious?”

Grabbing the lapels of his jacket, she brought his lips down and kissed him hard and open-mouthed. She loved kissing him. She was going to have to figure out how to get him drunk more often so they could make out all the time. She was definitely serious about that.

When she finished kissing him, she gave him a shove away. “You sleep and I'll sleep. I'm too tired to think about fucking water. I hate that shit.”

He unlocked the office door for her. “You're a foul-mouthed drunk, Allison Whitley. And trouble. You're all kinds of trouble tonight.”

“And you're trouble all the time. Period.” She spit a little on the P, which probably meant it was time to stop talking for the night. A girl had to have standards, after all. “I'll lock up behind you.”

He allowed her to push him backward until he was clear of the door, but then his arms snaked around her waist. He angled his lips over hers, kissing her slower and sweeter than their other kisses that night. No tongue, just his soft lips dancing with hers and the scratch of his five o'clock shadow.

When they finished, he stroked a hand over her head and down her hair, then along her arms to her hands before giving her a gentle push back inside the office. “Good night, Allison. Don't ever try to pick up my fucking tab again.”

Theo didn't think in terms of gratitude all that often, but that was the only word to describe his relief at his decision not to sleep with Allison while they were both hammered. As it was, he could barely remember what it felt like to kiss her and get his hands beneath her clothes, which was a shame because ever since the first time they'd kissed, he'd entertained a lot of fantasies about what her body would feel and taste like.

One good thing about getting hammered, though, was that he slept soundly and dreamlessly all through the night, which rarely ever happened. After drinking about a gallon of water and downing a couple aspirin when he woke up, he felt halfway decent, which was good because he'd agreed to meet Duke and his crew at the football stadium where they were going to hold the exhibition game so they could plan their setup strategy.

He loaded his tool bucket and belt into the back of his pickup, one eye on Allison's bedroom windows. It was early morning, but Allison was probably up already, feeding Katie. If she was up, then she'd hear him drive away. He paused with his hand on the driver's side door, frowning. She might think he was dodging out to avoid her. He wasn't, but he didn't want to take the chance of waking her up by calling or going to find her, so although he hadn't written in a long time, he found himself reaching into his center console for his glasses, a scrap of paper, and a pen.

He stood with paper and pen for a while, visualizing the words he planned to write and getting used to the feel of the pen in his hand. Carefully, he printed out each word from memory, not bothering to try to go back and read the words he'd already written, knowing it wouldn't make much sense and he might lose his nerve. With any luck, it didn't read like a damn kindergartener wrote it.

He wedged it halfway into the seam of the office door, then stared at it, second-guessing himself. He almost tore it down and let himself into the office to go find her, but in the end, he left it there and settled into the idea that he'd done the right thing.

On the way to the stadium, he ran through his memories of the night before, straining to recall if he and Allison had done anything embarrassing in front of their friends. It'd be nice to figure out what kind of ribbing and questions he needed to brace for from Will, Liam, and whichever other guys Duke had on the job.

He didn't think he and Allison had kissed in front of people. He distinctly remembered holding back on that front until they were out of sight around the back side of the landing's office. And he was pretty sure he hadn't said anything provocative to her inside the tavern, something that would give away to his friends how badly he'd wanted to drag her off to his bed.

At the high school, he pulled into a spot behind Liam's truck. The guys were standing in a cluster at the edge of the football stadium, chattering about the game and their plans for sprucing up the grounds.

Wounded Veterans International had already committed to providing an ice rink building company to set up a temporary rink on the field, and the Iceplex had committed the use of their Zamboni, but once the rink was up, maintenance would fall to the volunteers. All Theo knew was that he was in charge of electricity, which, judging by the size of the school's outbuilding that housed the electrical boxes, they were going to need a lot more of.

“You're going to have your work cut out for you with this power grid,” Duke said.

Liam elbowed him. “He doesn't have time now that he's trying to get into Allison Whitley's pants.”

Here we go . . .
“Don't be crass,” Theo said.

“You two couldn't take your eyes off each other last night,” Brandon said. “Half the time, you looked like you wanted to toss your drink in her face, and the other half you looked like you wanted to rip her clothes off. You think none of us noticed that?” Brandon broke down laughing.

Will piped up. “And I loved how she paid your tab. I thought you were going to blow a gasket. I don't know why we never thought to play you like that.”

He made a mental note to have a talk with Harper that afternoon about what Allison was and wasn't allowed to do at the tavern with regards to money. “That's only my policy with beautiful women, Corgan. You assholes are welcome to pick up my tab any time.”

But Will wasn't done. “I thought you were going to punch me when I said I was going to walk her home. Turns out you just wanted to be the man to do that. What'd you two do when you got there? Did she let you get to second base?”

Theo ignored the insinuation lest he get any more tempted to punch Will out right now. Never mind that he had, in fact, gotten to second base with Allison. The point was that Will and the others didn't get to think about her in such a disrespectful way. He had a vague recollection of his exchange with Will the night before, now that his memory had been jogged. Ouch. Of course his overreaction would've come off as all kinds of suspicious to the guys. His only hope now was to turn it around.

“I wouldn't have needed to go there if you hadn't angled to get alone with her. I already warned you she was off-limits.”

“She was three sheets to the wind, man. And when you didn't offer to make sure she got home safely, I went ahead. I was just trying to be gentlemanly.”

“You've never been accused of that before, Corgan.”

“I guess Allison brings it out in me. I like her.”

Theo straightened, his blood really boiling now. Will always was did enjoy stirring the pot. “Take that back.”

Will laughed. “No, no. Not like that. Jesus, calm down.” His attention was on the wrench Theo was gripping. Theo hadn't realized how tight his fist was around the tool until then. He took a breath, relaxing his hand a shade. “I think she's cool, is all. I like the way she stands up to you and makes you squirm. It's fun to see you off your game, like you are now.”

Brandon said, “I think she's making him do a lot more than squirm.”

Will had a gleam in his eye that looked a lot like drunk Allison's gleam—a hunger for dissonance. “I can see the letter now. Dear
Playboy Magazine
, last night my boss came on to me. She bought me drinks, then took me home, and put her mouth on my—”

“That's enough. And she's not my boss, not like that.”

“Sure she is,” Liam said. “She signs your paycheck. She could fire you, and if you want a raise, you've got to ask nicely.” Liam punctuated that last word with an obscene gesture, but Theo was more concerned with the truth in Liam's words. That was the one sticking point left when it came to starting a relationship with Allison. To him, it wasn't about pride around his friends and the needling they gave him about being romantically involved with his boss, but the power inequality.

Duke clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Come work for me full-time. God knows I have enough work for someone with your skills. Leave the girl to figure out that business on her own. She made her choice and it's not your job to keep her from falling on her face.”

But it was, because he'd made it his job. Like he'd agreed to head up the maintenance job for the exhibition game. Like how the team was counting on him to help them win. He drew a sharp inhale, feeling inexplicably claustrophobic.

How did this happen, people relying on him so much? There wasn't any aspect of his life right now that didn't involve other people's success or failure hinging on his help.

He hated that feeling, of having the hopes and expectations of others projected onto him, and always had. The only difference now, as opposed to when he was a star in the hockey junior majors or a soldier, was that on a lot of levels, he's chosen this for himself. He'd known what would happen when he pledged his support of Brandon contacting the Wounded Veterans International exhibition game committee.

And he'd known what he was getting himself into with Allison and Cloud Nine the moment he chose to fix hot chocolate for her as a peace offering on the night Katie was sick. True, at the time there was no way he could have fully appreciated how their relationship would evolve into something wildly complicated and exhilarating—or how much he'd grow to like her as a person, as a woman—but, essentially, he'd known what he was doing and he'd done it anyway.

That didn't mean he had to be her employee anymore, though. He could quit, work for Duke, and still help her out. He didn't have to go all or nothing with Allison and Cloud Nine. Even if he quit, he could rent the dock space for Lanette, which would be a reliable monthly income for her. He could help her find a qualified boat mechanic or two to fill his roles in the business, and he could still be there for her with any questions that came up as the spring season got underway. There wasn't any rule on the books that said he had to work for her.

It made him feel weird to think it, weird and freeing. Like he'd finally be Allison's equal. He could pursue her without the unpalatable workplace dynamic. She wasn't going to sell to him, so what other choices did he have except to make peace with being her employee or quit?

“Thanks, Duke. Let me think about that.”

While he was walking with his tool bucket to the outbuilding behind the stadium that housed the school's electrical breakers, Liam fell into step with him.

“I don't like that, the idea of you leaving Allison hanging by quitting Cloud Nine. It pisses me off, to be honest with you.”

Liam had never done more with Allison than work silently in her house to fix the fire damage. He didn't even like people, and hadn't stuck around to hang out with them the night before at Locks, so what was his deal with Allison?

“First Will and now you? She's off-limits and I don't know why I have to keep repeating myself about that point.”

“You don't, not with me, anyway. But I also don't think you should leave her in the lurch, and I'm actually pretty surprised that you're considering it. She doesn't deserve that. I think you're going to find that most of the guys on the team feel the same way.”

Theo screwed his face up, thrown off by Liam's sudden surge of protectiveness. “What is she, your little sister? What happened to all the jokes—Dear
Playboy
and Allison as the devil incarnate and all that?”

Liam shrugged. “That was to piss you off. Plus, I changed my mind about her being the devil incarnate.”

“I changed my mind about that, too, but I can make sure Cloud Nine's business is stable without continuing to punish myself by working for her.”

Brandon and Will appeared on his other side, as though they'd been trailing behind him and Liam, eavesdropping. “As long as she understands that up front and you stay true to your word,” Brandon said.

Of course he would, but what he didn't get was how, all of a sudden, Allison was the saint and he was the threat. “Or what?”

“Or else Liam, Brandon and I are going to kick your ass,” Will said.

If Theo set aside his dismay, he had to admit to a measure of comfort that Allison had so many people looking out for her best interest and safety. Hell, Will had been ready to see her home safely from Locks the night before, which was epic because as far as Theo knew, Will had a personal rule against being alone in the company of a woman.

He stopped walking and set down his tool bucket, then crossed his arms. “That's how it's going to be?”

Will cracked his knuckles. “You could test us on that, if you're prepared to go down that road.”

Theo reminded himself again that it was a good thing that Allison had so many people looking out for her. She hadn't had an answer for him when he'd asked her who she could count on. Little did she know the entire Bomb Squad team would step up for her. His irritation cooled. These were good guys. His friends, and now Allison's friends, too.

“I'm not sure what I'm going to do about Cloud Nine yet, okay? I need to give it some thought before anything happens.”

He bent to pick up his tool bucket, but Will grabbed his shirt and got in his face. “One more thing. If you break her heart, I'm going to personally beat you to a pulp.”

Lovely. He almost countered with “Nothing's going on between me and Allison,” except that wasn't true and, clearly, Will, Brandon, and Liam knew it. Guess he'd done an ace job of showing his hand last night at Locks. “I think if I break Allison's heart then she's going to want first dibs on that honor.”

Will chuckled at that and let him go. Liam and Brandon laughed, too. “Yeah, she would. I'd pay to watch that ass-whupping,” Liam said.

The visual of that went a long way to diffusing the tension among all of them and made Theo smile, thinking about all five foot something of Allison Whitley with enough piss and vinegar storming inside her that she could bring a motley crew of soldiers to heel and get Theo to reexamine his whole life plan. If he did her wrong, which he had no intention of, he was certain that he'd discover the true meaning of the line “Hell hath no fury . . .”

He loved that about her. He loved that sharp edge of courage and confidence that she wore like a suit of armor. He couldn't wait to get back to the landing and see her again.

***

New, bold Allison might have started the day a little slow due to a mild hangover, but by noon, she was full speed ahead. With Chelsea and Katie out on a long walk along the canal that both Chelsea and Allison were banking on transitioning right into nap time, Allison sat at the office computer, her finger hovering over the mouse's button. All she had to do was click “complete transaction,” and then she and Katie would be signed up for “Baby and Me” water acclimation classes every Wednesday beginning in three weeks.

This was something she had to do for Katie so she wouldn't be afraid of water the way Allison was. She needed to do this as a symbol of her resolution to make her new life work and to be the best mom she could. She knew that, but she was still fighting her body's urge to start hyperventilating. The pool at the community college was only four feet deep all the way across. Allison would never not be standing with her feet firmly on the bottom.