His Kind of Wonderful (Sugar Bay #2) (3 page)

“Awww. Our own little TinkerJoe.” She tossed him a snarky grin.

Joe sent her a look that said payback was coming her way. She swallowed and pushed back her chair to neatly stack the empty dishes.

“Don’t. I’ll get that.”

“No. Anabelle, you cooked. I’ll clean.”

“Come on, Anabelle. Come dance with me.” Derek pulled his wife away from the table.

“We’ve got this.” Joe stood and gathered the remaining dishes. “Go.”

“If you’re sure…” Anabelle’s voice trailed away as Derek led her towards the outside terrace where he’d set up a lush landscape reminiscent of a tropical oasis.

Dani and Joe worked in tense silence. Being alone with him always made her nervous. When others were around, their bickering helped relieve the tension, but alone, the tension built to an uncomfortable presence. She focused on rinsing and stacking the dishes in the dishwasher while he wrapped the leftovers and stored them in the refrigerator before he wiped the table and counter.

Music poured from the hidden speakers and she hummed along to Bruno Mars to avoid conversation.

“Go ahead and sing if you want. I won’t judge.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“I doubt you were ever a boy scout.”

“Your suspicion wounds me.” He clutched his chest. “Come on.”

“That’s okay.”

“You don’t sing?”

“Not in public.”

“So no Karaoke fun for you, huh?”

“God no. Not unless I was out-of-my-mind drunk.”

He chuckled. “It’s just us.”

“I don’t think so.”

“You know you want to.” His voice was low. He’d come close enough that his breath teased the loose tendrils of hair along her face. She caught a hint of spice and peppermint. “I’d like to make a request.”

“Yeah?” She glanced at him. He had leaned back against the counter next to her. Something about the sparkle in his eyes made the shrimp tempura she’d eaten churn in her stomach. Joe looked a little too innocent.
Innocent Joe
was an oxymoron. Laugh lines deepened around his twinkling brown eyes and she got a bad feeling—
very
bad feeling.
She began to scrub the remaining dishes with desperate frenzy—a few more and she’d be done. Then she could escape.

“I heard a song today.”

Shit.

“It was really catchy.”

Double shit.

“You might know it.”

He paused for a beat and she tried to ignore.

“Something about a tap dancing hippo.”

Joe hummed the familiar tune in her ear and she groaned, mortified.

He winked. "Please, Dani. Won’t you sing me a lullaby?"

She flung the soapy sponge at him then watched as it bounced off his chest. He laughed a deep belly laugh, clutching his stomach and smacking the counter. She turned away but it was hard to block out the sound of his merriment.
The whole evening he’d let her think he hadn’t heard her today.
She slammed the dishwasher door closed and turned to leave but he caught her elbow, “Hold on, Pavarotti.”

She elbowed him and was pleased to hear his pained grunt.

“I’m teasing, you little wildcat.” He pulled her around and cradled her shoulders. His eyes sparkled and she eyed him suspiciously.
Were those tears?
She stared harder and noticed a hint of moisture gathered in the corners of his eyes.

The skunk—they
were. She stomped on his foot.

“Ow,” he muttered, clutching his injured limb. She went after his other foot and he lifted that one to avoid her. “Cut it out.”

“You’re lucky I took off my boots when I came in.”

They continued their stomp and avoid dance for a few minutes with him holding her upper arms trying to get her to stop.

“Calm down. It was cute. You’re a good aunt.”

She shook her unbearably hot head. “Thanks.”

He stroked her arms slowly. But if he’d wanted to calm her he’d failed because it did the opposite. She went from embarrassed anger to heightened awareness in an instant.

Awareness wrapped around them, wound its way between them and tightened its grip. She noted his thick, dark eyelashes and the golden striations mixed with dark brown that gave him such a distinct gaze. She traced the slight crook in his nose with her eyes and watched as his eyes tracked a path to her lips and stayed there for what seemed like forever but was probably a few seconds. She licked her dry lips and watched as he mimicked her. He lowered his head as if to kiss her and her heart stopped. But instead, he brushed her hair away from her face.

“Soap bubble.”

She stared, embarrassed by her assumption. “Oh. Okay.” She hated how her voice sounded. Hated the note of yearning she hadn’t intended.

He released her and stepped back.

“We’re finished here, right?” Joe looked around, his movements jerky and not as smooth as usual. “Why don’t I take a look at Thelma?”

He grabbed her keys from the counter and hurried away without another word while she stumbled in the opposite direction, breathless and bewildered.

Joe walked into the firehouse the next morning for his shift and spotted George, his mentor and captain.

“Hey there, son.” George was twenty years older and not his family by blood but he’d taken an interest in Joe as a boy.

“How’s it going?”

“Not bad. Lisa wanted me to let you know she’d be by later—something about a charity request. She thinks you can help her so I told her you’d be here today.”

It was hard but Joe held on to his grin. George’s wife had been nothing but a pain in the ass lately. He’d avoided any place or event she might attend but increasingly, she’d been more aggressive in her pursuit and the other firefighters had started to notice. They sent weird looks his way as if he actually wanted the woman to flirt with him.
Shit.
Everyone knew he loved women, but he drew the line at cuckolding his mentor and it pissed him off they thought he enjoyed the attention.

“She’ll be by in about thirty minutes. She’s dropping Collin off at Karate.”

He nodded—not wanting to offend George and take off to avoid the guy’s wife. For her to go through George to request his presence was a seriously fucked up situation. He hoped his mentor knew he would never dishonor their friendship.

Half an hour into their shift, Lisa walked in.

“Joe! I’ve been looking for you. Why haven’t you returned any of my messages?”

He shrugged. George stood nearby. Lisa was fifteen years younger than her husband and five years older than Joe. An attractive woman, Lisa was completely indulged by her husband. According to George, her flirtatious behavior was part of her charm.

Joe shook his head. He wasn’t exactly a Neanderthal but he couldn’t imagine standing by while the woman he loved threw herself at another man. But George was a good guy so who was he to judge?

“You look good Joe.” Lisa slid a hot pink nail along his forearm. The crystal encrusted acrylic sparkled in the sunlight.

He stepped back. “Thanks.”

George gave him a side look as if he didn’t understand Joe’s behavior.

“What can I do for you, Mrs. Strickland?”

“For starters, you can cut the Mrs. Strickland crap. Call me Lisa for the hundredth time. You make me feel so old.” She sent a coy look to George. “Am I old, George honey?”

“No, baby.” George’s smile was tolerant, as if he didn’t mind reassuring her.

Joe sighed. “Okay, Lisa. What can I do for you?”

“The Sugar Bay Ladies League is putting on an auction to raise funds for a few charities around town.”

“Sounds admirable. How can I help?”

“By signing on as one of the bachelors for the big auction.”

John, Brandon and Kyle whistled behind him and even George grinned until Joe glared at the lot of them. Only George had the decency to rub his mouth in order to hide his smile. The others didn’t bother. The bastards were either married or had a steady girlfriend, so they were safe.
Assholes
.

“I don’t think so.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll be happy to write a check though.”

“A check would be fine but why not participate to raise more money? It’s for a good cause.”

“Of course it is,” he paused, wracking his brain for a better excuse, “but my
girlfriend
wouldn’t like it.” He felt the stunned silence behind him. Even George gave him a surprised look. He rubbed his neck and out of the corner of his eyes, he caught the questioning looks the guys gave one another. One by one they shrugged and leaned closer like a bunch of gossips they were.

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” Lisa’s blue eyes looked confused. A furrow narrowed down her forehead.

He shrugged. He didn’t know either but he wasn’t crazy about being auctioned off and he definitely didn’t want to spend more time with Lisa.

“What’s her name?”

“Dani,” he said, rattling off the first name that came to mind.

Someone spewed water behind him and he glared a warning at Kyle.

Where had that come from?
Derek was going to kill him.

“She from around here?”

“She’s relatively new. She moved here for school and is working on her PhD.”

“Wow. A nerd.” She narrowed her eyes at him, with hands on her hips. “Didn’t know you had a thing for them.”

He rocked back on his heels and shrugged. “Smart is sexy.”

Brandon snickered behind him, muttering something about the twin cheerleaders he’d squired about last fall. Joe grimaced. Sweet as they were, there hadn’t been much in the brain department between the two of them. He ignored the nosy group behind him and hoped they’d keep quiet until Lisa went away.

“I’m thinking about going back to school for a marketing degree. Isn’t that right, George?”

“Sure is.”

The smirk Lisa sent Joe was disturbing. She didn’t seem to care about her husband’s feelings at all. Joe remained silent, done with the conversation.

“Fine. If that’s how you feel about it,” Lisa said with a sniff.

He nodded, glad it was over and she’d somehow accepted his rejection with minimal fuss.

George stepped towards his wife and hugged her. “Sorry, baby. If I’d have known about his girlfriend, I’d have saved you a trip.” Lisa wore a pout that might have been cute on a five year old but not on a grown woman. She brushed George away and walked towards the door. George followed before he turned back. “Joe, bring your girlfriend by sometime. I want to meet her.”

“Absolutely.” He lied through his teeth, glad George looked happy and less stressed.

He’d put off telling Derek though. Joe’s nose had been broken once and he wasn’t looking forward to having it broken again. The first problem was—how to break it to Dani?

Last night’s spat in the kitchen came to mind.

He was screwed
.

***

Joe whistled as he walked up Main Street towards Charlie’s Decadent Den. After Lisa left, the boys had harassed him until he escaped for a sugar run. There was a Lemon Coconut Crunch with his name on it and maybe—but it was a stretch—he’d bring back some for the boys in spite of their insensitive behavior. He doubted any of those yahoos wanted to prance in front of local society in the name of charity either.
Bastards.

He pushed the glass door open and was greeted by unearthly delights. He’d always imagined heaven would smell just like Charlie’s Decadent Den, full of sugar, chocolate and all things delicious.

“Joseph James! Get yourself over here and give me some sugar.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He crossed the shop and enveloped a tiny redhead in a big hug and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. He was pretty sure Mrs. MacKinnon wasn’t a real redhead. Over the course of his youth, she’d changed her hair color with the seasons so he didn’t know her true color. But she’d always been nice to him, when most people labeled him as the dirty kid with a drunken dad who wouldn’t amount to much. She let him play with her sons and he’d spent hours in her kitchen. She was one of his favorite people and he’d do just about anything for her.

“Hiya, handsome.”

He grinned down at the petite lady. “Hi Mrs. Mac.” He’d shortened her surname long ago.

“You doing okay? Staying out of trouble?”

“Doing my best.”

“That’s a good boy. Charlie just put out some fresh Lemon Coconut Crunch cupcakes. Want some?”

“When are you going to forget the men of Sugar Bay and marry me?” He spun her in a circle while she squealed, slapping his shoulders.

“Put me down, rascal! You couldn’t handle me so I’ll leave all the sweet young things to you. They’re more to your speed.”

“You’re nothing but a heartbreaker, Mrs. Mac.”

“Alright, alright. Stop flirting with my mom and grab your goodies.”

“Hey Charlie.” Gently, he set Mrs. MacKinnon down. Charlie was actually a Charlotte. Tall and slim, she wasn’t what people had in mind when they thought ‘baker’. The auburn haired woman looked more like a corporate lawyer or somebody that took delight in eating small children for dinner. Not exactly warm and fluffy but, damn, she could bake.

“Hey, punk. How’s it going?”

“Not too bad. Been on the water lately?” Charlie loved the water almost as much as she did her bakery.

“Everyday. Keeps me sane.”

He gave her a look and she grinned.

“Okay.
Relatively
sane,” she clarified.

The jiggling bells on the door signaled a new customer and in walked Dani and right behind her, Lisa Strickland, George’s wife.

Shit
.

Dani gave him a startled look through her hipster glasses. As if seeing him in a bakery was an anomaly. He took in her pink cheeks and wondered if she was still embarrassed over last night. He hoped not.

She’d pulled her long, dark hair up with an antique butterfly clip and with her gauzy white—almost transparent—poet shirt, beat up jean shorts and leather messenger bag slung across her hip she looked like a hot, bohemian gypsy librarian.

Joe made sure to keep his eyes above her neck even though the lure of her long lean legs called to him. “Hey, Dani.”

She nodded back. “Hey.”

She avoided his gaze so he took the opportunity to grab her by the elbow and ignored her startled squeak. He pulled her close and brushed a kiss on her lips for good measure. He snapped back at the spark he’d felt. “What the hell?”