Boyfriend for Hire (20 page)

Tawny shifted in her sleep, which caused her thigh to land across his morning wood. Her lush boobs were right within stroking distance. Maybe this sleeping-over thing wasn’t such a bad thing after all? Waking with Tawny in his arms was comfortable. There were a few more words that followed, but when he really thought about it, he felt comfortable, like he was where he should be and with the right person.

How long would it last? Mandi had been his longest running relationship, mostly because he couldn’t pry her claws out of his back or wallet. All the others, and yeah, he’d admit the list ran on far longer than it should, had been a few weeks at best. Not really love-’em-and-leave-’em so much as love-’em-and-leave-’em-wanting-more. Kind of like a good TV show or book series where they ended it while you still liked the characters and story, before you got sick of the plot and wanted them all killed off.

Tawny wasn’t like the rest, but he wasn’t sure he could see it playing out any different. At first, it’d be great. Hot and heavy, sex every night. Talking, laughing, enjoying each other’s company. Then the sex would start to fizzle, dropping off to every couple of days. They’d notice the little things the other did that drove them crazy, and small arguments would start and morph into giant fights. Sex would cease to exist. He’d end up sleeping on the couch and eventually end up in some flea-trap, no-name motel.

Just like his dad.

They’d hate each other in the end.

Just like his parents.

Their best friends would be the Thanksgiving wishbone with him on one end and Tawny on the other, both pulling until Jase and Cherry broke. He couldn’t do it to them. Couldn’t do it to Tawny. He hated to admit it, but she was right. They never should have slept together.

“You done figuring out the solutions to the world’s problems?” Her voice was husky and sent the blood pumping through his veins. She rolled over, taking the sheet with her and promptly tucking it under her arms.

“What? No. Thinking about work.”

“You sure?” She rolled to her side, propping herself up on her elbow. “I can hear your brain clicking away and I think it went into overdrive. David, you don’t have to worry. I’m not expecting you to get down on bended knee or to go ask my dad for his blessing. Remember? I’m the one who said this was just us scratching an itch. So relax, we’re two adults enjoying each other.”

He rolled over to face her. He didn’t want her itch scratched. He wanted her craving him as he craved her. He wanted to feel her silky skin slide across his. Wanted to taste her in the morning, wanted to hear her cry out his name as she came for him.

“How’s the itch this morning?” he asked.

“Now that you ask, there is this tingling—”

His phone rang. He’d have ignored it except it was Jase’s ringtone, and if he was calling this early, it had to be something important. He hit the speaker button. “ ’Sup, Cupid?”

“Where the hell are you? You were supposed to meet me thirty minutes ago to work on the bathroom at the B-and-B. I checked your apartment and when I saw the truck gone, figured you headed out early. Considering I’m standing alone in the middle of the jobsite . . .”

“Shit! Look, hang tight. I’ll be there in fifteen.” Dave was already out of bed and looking around for his pants.

“Yeah? You better have coffee and a doughnut for me, as I skipped out on more than just my morning meal for you.”

“Tell me about it,” he muttered. At Jason’s “what,” David shifted gears, pulled on his boots, and grabbed his tee. “Never mind, you want chocolate or maple?” He strode out of Tawny’s bedroom without a backward glance. He reached the front door and realized what he’d done. Quickly he turned around and headed back into the bedroom.

“Forget something, sailor?”

“No, just . . .”

She placed a finger across his lips. “Dave, shh. No expectations, no strings. Kiss me and go.”

He did as instructed and wondered how he’d survive the day between his ADD and Tawny Torres as a constant distraction.

She was so screwed. Once with Dave—okay, one night, as they’d gone multiple rounds throughout said night—would not be enough. She was hooked. A David Farber junkie already jonesing for the next session of lovin’.

A quick glance at the clock told her she still had another thirty minutes before the alarm went off. She should go back to sleep. Damn David Farber. He had to go and ask about her itch, which in turn got her blood pumping and her hormones primed, and now she was too wired to sleep. Normally if she had extra time in the morning she’d pop in on Cherry and share a cup of coffee and catch up on the family gossip. Not happening today for two reasons, Tawny thought. First, if Cherry had free time, she was most likely cramming for a test or working on homework, and second, she wasn’t in the mood to talk about what happened between her and David last night.

Chances were Jason would figure it out after seeing David and then Jason would share the news with Cherry anyway. Sooner or later, Tawny would have to talk about it with her best friend. They’d never kept secrets from each other, and she didn’t plan to start now. Maybe delay the news a few days, enough that she had time to mull it over in her own head and see how it fit. Right now it was shiny and oh so attractive.

Grabbing her silk robe, Tawny headed for the coffeepot. Since she had time, she might as well make breakfast and enjoy it on her too-frequently-ignored patio while she tried to figure out what the hell she was doing. Of course, she might be jumping the gun. David hadn’t said anything about a repeat performance. Heck, he barely remembered to kiss her good-bye. Not that she was mad over the slip. Now if he hadn’t told her about his ADD, she would have been pissed, being thrown aside like day-old fish.

What woman wouldn’t after the night they’d shared? Meticulously loved, practically worshipped for hours. No erogenous zone left unexplored; touched, tortured and driven to the point of no return and beyond. Yeah, how could she get mad after a night like that? She had way too many endorphins swimming through her system to do more than hum and walk around with a Cheshire cat grin on.

With a cup of coffee in her hand, she wandered over to her closet and scanned the contents, looking for the right outfit to match her mood. Something with flowers, that flowed and . . . whoa! An image of her dressed in white, with flowers petals floating to the ground, brought all thought and action to a halt. Instead she grabbed her yellow pencil skirt and red silk blouse. She had no business thinking those kinds of thoughts. Actually, now that she’d had a few minutes for her head to clear of raging pheromones, Jason’s call had come at the perfect time. Being with David was a bad idea. A surefire way to get her heart broken.

Jumping into the shower, she let the hot water sluice over her body to drown the images running through her mind. What was she doing? David’s best friend was marrying her best friend in less than two months. Could she see herself with him a year from now? Five years? Over the past six months David had been linked to no less than four different women, proving he wasn’t long-term material. A couple weeks at best, so what did that leave her? A broken heart was only part of it.

“Could you imagine the get-togethers?” she asked to no one as she dried off.

Cherry, Jason, Brody with whomever, and David with his current squeeze, and her trying to explain to the love of her life how she and David used to date, and no, it wasn’t awkward at all to see him with someone else. Pure BS! She’d already felt her blood pressure skyrocket at the bakery when the human Barbie plastered herself against David and locked lips. No, getting involved with David was a very bad idea. As a matter of fact, it was time for them to officially end their fictional relationship.

When she got to work she’d start to lay the groundwork, mention her worry that all was not well in Paradise.

The phone rang as she slipped on her red pumps. A fleeting, hopeful, wrong thought went through her head that it might be David. Caller ID squashed that hope like a bug when she saw her parents’ number.

“
Mija
, you’re coming to dinner Friday night. Five sharp. No excuses this time.” Her mother’s voice was as firm as an iron bar. “The whole family will be there to celebrate Cherry and Jason’s wedding.”

Tawny sat on the edge of her bed this could take some time. “The whole family? Even Dante?” She doubted her brother was flying in for a picnic and then again in two months.

“Of course not. You know he can’t get leave until right before the wedding, but Mateo is bringing a special friend. He won’t say anything else about her. I don’t even know her name or what she does for a living. Where is she from? Has he told you anything?”

Yep, like it wasn’t a she, but a he who he’d be bringing home. She wasn’t stupid enough to be the one to open that box for her brother, though, and planned on keeping her mouth shut. “Nope. I didn’t even know he was seeing someone.”

“Hmm. Do you think he’s serious?” her mother prodded.

“Well, if he’s bringing someone home to meet you and Dad, I’d say yes.” None of the Torres children brought their girlfriends or boyfriends home. They all knew to do so would send their mother straight into planning mode.

“You think I should invite Father Patricio?”

“Mom, don’t you dare. And you know his name is Father Pat, not Patricio. He’s not even Latino.” Tawny began to pace across the small space between her bed and the bathroom. Should she warn Matty? Let him know Mom had slipped into the crazy she-wants-more-grandkids-and-will-do-anything-to-get-them mode? Nah. If she was focused on Matty, then she wouldn’t be focused on Tawny.

Her mother harrumphed into the phone, her way of swearing. “You don’t know everything, missy. Father Patricio’s great-great-great grandmother came to America from Spain.”

By way of Portugal, although Tawny decided to keep that tidbit to herself; she wasn’t technically out of the doghouse for her last open-mouth-insert-foot episode. “Interesting. Mama, I hate to cut it short, but I need to get to work for a meeting.” Liar, liar . . . Thank goodness she wasn’t wearing pants or they’d be on fire.

“You’ll be here Friday?”

“Of course.”

“You should invite Ivan. Such a nice man. Handsome. Smart. Good job. You could do a lot worse.”

The woman didn’t know the first thing about subtlety. Why didn’t she come out and say David’s name? It had been crystal clear to Tawny her mom’s opinion of David the day they ran into her outside of the bakery. Had Ivan had his hands on Tawny’s derrière, her mother would have clapped with glee. Well, okay, maybe she wouldn’t have been thrilled. They were in public, and her mother disapproved of PDAs of any kind. Still, she’d bet her favorite pumps her mom wouldn’t have used the same icy tone she’d spoken to David with.

“Mom, you don’t bring a man you barely know to a family get-together, especially not one celebrating a wedding. Besides, I don’t think Ivan likes me. I’m not really his type.” Tawny glanced at the alarm clock. Her free time was now gone; if she didn’t get off the phone soon, she’d miss her meeting.

“
Mija
, don’t be silly. Of course he likes you. What man wouldn’t? He told me himself you two had a wonderful date and he couldn’t wait to see you again.” Her mother’s voice took on that note, the one that told Tawny she was doomed and arguing wouldn’t do any good. Not that it ever stopped her before.

“We had a cup of coffee and talked for ten minutes. I think he said something about wanting to move back to Cuba or wherever he’s from.” An outright lie, but hey, all is fair in love and war and survival.

Her mom sucked in air so fast she whistled into the phone. “We’ll see about that. No man is taking my baby girl out of the country.”

Tawny smiled as she said her good-byes and hung up. One problem solved. Now to rid herself of one pretend boyfriend and get back to being single.

Chapter Thirteen

T
he rest of the week zipped by, which was both good and bad in Tawny’s mind. Good, actually great because she scored three new clients (on her own, thank you very much) and the bosses were thrilled with her work. Bad because it meant she was now parked in front of her parents’ house dreading going in. Her dad had spoken no more than ten words (“hi” and “bye”) to her since the foot-in-mouth dinner six weeks ago. His response to her new job had been a grunt.

Her mother had the opposite reaction, thrilled because of all the contacts she’d make in the wedding business. Yeah, Tawny knew exactly where her mom’s mind had gone. Maybe if Tawny planned other people’s weddings, she’d start dreaming of her own. Fat chance. If anything, eloping (someday) sounded better and better, especially after she’d dealt with Camellia’s momster today.

Right now, Tawny put all of the negative thoughts away. Tonight was all about celebrating her best friend’s upcoming nuptials. Not really a bridal shower or an engagement party, but Cherry meant as much to her parents as Tawny did to Cherry’s family, and it was the end of summer. Roll them all together and it was the perfect excuse for her mom to throw a get-together. Not that Katia Torres needed a reason.

Tawny took a couple of minutes to tame her hair—the humidity was killing her—and fix her lipstick before getting out of her Mini Cooper. A quick scan confirmed she was, for once, not the last to arrive. Mateo’s sports car was missing. George’s minivan sat in the driveway (suck-up that he was). Behind it was the Ryans’ Honda, and on the street, in front of Tawny, sat Jason’s truck. Looked like Tawny wasn’t the only one parked for a quick getaway.

This time Tawny headed straight to the backyard. If Grams was already here, she’d be in the kitchen with Tawny’s mom. Unlike her mother who would put her to work, Grams liked an empty kitchen when she was cooking. Totally fine with Tawny. It’d been a long week and an even longer day, and she just wanted to relax and have fun for a change. No cares, no responsibility, a night to chill. Walking through the gate she spotted the man-circle with her dad, his mini-me (her brother George), Jason, and Gramps, which brought a smile to her face.