“I’ve missed you, Tan,” Mom says as she wraps her arms around me, planting a kiss on my cheek. “And what have I told you about wasting your money on me?” She tuts as she takes the lilies out of my hand.
“It’s never a waste if it makes you smile, Mom,” I say, following her through her hallway into the kitchen.
“Charmer,” she throws back over her shoulder. She heads to the cupboard under the sink and takes out a vase, filling it with water before she arranges the flowers inside it. “So, what’s the special occasion?”
“No special occasion.” I smile, watching her tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear.
“Nonsense, you can’t lie to me, you know. I know you better than you know yourself.” She chuckles. “This is the second time I’ve seen you this week, not that I’m complaining.” Her green eyes sparkle at me.
“Can’t a son come by to visit his beautiful Mom?” I say, pretending to look hurt.
“It’s a woman, isn’t it?” Her complete focus is now on me, the flowers forgotten. “You’ve met someone, Tan? I can see it in your eyes.” She clasps her hands in front of her, grinning. She looks so much younger than her age. She’s always had this youthful girliness about her, full of mischief, despite how hard it was for her, struggling as a single mom. She’s never lost her sense of fun, her magic gift that means any child who meets her loves her instantly.
“Come on then, tell me about her. What’s her name?” She grins, finishing the flowers but keeping me firmly in sight, unable to escape her interrogation.
I take a deep breath. “We’re not even… I mean, she’s… we’re not even friends, really,” I say, unsure how to describe what I have with Rachel.
“She must be something special if you’re getting all tongue-tied over her. That’s not like you at all.” Mom can barely contain her grin as she fills the kettle.
“She’s certainly something, Mom.” I look up at the ceiling, trying to find the right words. “She’s the most stubborn, infuriating woman. She always wants to be right. And she’s so hell-bent on being independent that she’s practically outraged at the offer of any help like you’re saying that she’s not capable of doing it by herself.” I sigh as I bring my eyes back to Mom.
“She sounds an awful lot like someone else I know,” Mom says as she turns to make the coffee. “You know what I think?” she says a moment later as she passes a steaming mug to me.
“You’re going to tell me, anyway.” I smile.
“Cheeky!” Mom bats me on the arm. “I think she just hasn’t met a person she feels she can really trust yet. I was a lot like that when you were a baby. Before I met Peter, I was always fighting for us on my own. You learn how to not rely on anyone but yourself when you have no choice. Of course, moving back here and having your Nana close by was a Godsend—while it lasted,” she says sadly. We lost Nana when I was young. It’s just been Mom and me for years.
“You did so well, Mom,” I say, reaching out to squeeze her hand.
I remember all the years she worked so hard, taking on extra shifts, fixing the same dress over and over so that she could afford to buy me new school shoes. She’s the most selfless person I’ve ever known. Even now that my company is doing so well, I have to practically force her to accept anything from me. I’m happy she met Peter, her partner of four years. He’s a good man, although I wouldn’t hesitate to floor him if he ever hurt her.
“It might take time to earn her trust, Tanner. But if she’s got you smiling like this, then she’s worth it. Goodness knows you need someone with a strong backbone who will stand up to you. I know how stubborn you can be too.” She chuckles. “Remember what I always used to say to you growing up?”
“How could I forget, Mom?” I roll my eyes jokingly. “You only said it like every other day.”
“Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations.” She smiles as she pulls me into a hug. “It was your Nana’s saying, Tan. She was made of tough stuff and knew what she was talking about. I like to think she watches over us and helps where she can. Well… meddles.” Mom laughs.
“I know, Mom,” I say, hugging her back. “I’m sure she’s up there, wreaking havoc.” I’m convinced of it.
I climb the steps and wrap my knuckles against the door, juggling the two takeaway cups in one hand. I wait a few moments and wonder if I’ve made a mistake. Maybe she’s away on a flight? No, she told me at the whisky night that she had a flight to Vegas and then a week off after collecting the keys.
Suddenly the door opens in a rush, and I’m greeted with the sight of Rachel in a pair of faded, torn jeans and a tight grey t-shirt, both splattered in paint. Her dark hair is tied up messily on top of her head. She’s never looked sexier. Her eyes drop down my body, taking in my suit before coming to rest on my face. She wrinkles her brow, clearly not expecting me.
“Peace offering,” I say gently, holding one cup out towards her. She eyes it suspiciously. “There’s no poison in it, promise.” I smirk.
“Thanks,” she says, reaching out. Her fingers bump against mine, and she looks as though she may jump back as if I’ve stung her.
I watch her take a sip of her drink. I’m sure her eyebrows raise as she realizes it’s a double shot caramel latte.
“I suppose you’d like to come in?” she says finally.
“Well, seeing as you’re offering,” I say as I quickly squeeze past her through the doorway before she can change her mind. I walk through into the living room. It looks the same as the last time I saw it, except now the floor has various paintbrushes and tester cans on it. The wall behind them has four different dark blue paint patches on it, with names written in pencil underneath.
“One on the right.” I gesture towards the blue paint patches. “Midnight Lover,” I say, reading the name below.
Rachel smirks. “That’s my least favorite.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me,” I murmur to myself, taking a sip of my coffee. “Looks like you’re busy getting things done.” I look at her paint-covered clothes. I can’t help pausing for a split second as my eyes reach her breasts, round and full under her tight t-shirt. I swallow, remembering all too well what they felt like underneath my palms—how her nipples hardened as I ran my tongue over them.
“Yeah, I thought I should. I’ve only got this week off work, and then the contract ends on our rental, so we’ll be moving in. I need to get all the painting done so the house can air before Nigel comes.”
“Are you doing it by yourself?”
Rachel shrugs. “Yeah. Megan got offered a really great contract for a special edition comic, so she has to work flat out as it’s got a tight deadline.”
“How many rooms are you planning on doing?” I ask, looking around.
“All of them,” Rachel says without missing a beat.
I snap my eyes back to her. “You’re going to paint every room in this house all by yourself… in a week?”
“Yeah,” she says, “So?”
I blow out a breath. “Rachel, you’ll never get that all done by yourself.”
She frowns as she looks at me. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”
“Hey.” I hold my hands up. “I know you’re more than capable of doing a hell of a lot by yourself. But this, Rachel…” I shake my head as I look around, “this is just too big of a job to do alone.”
She avoids my eyes as she shrugs. God, she’s like a petulant teenager.
“Listen, I can get a couple of guys over here, professional painters. They’ll get it done in no time.” I pull my phone out of my jacket pocket.
“No!” Rachel snaps, glaring at me.
“Why not?” I glare back.
“You are not throwing your money at a problem that isn’t yours. This has got nothing to do with you. I don’t need professional painters swooping into my house.”
“Fine,” I mutter to myself, bringing my PA, Penny’s number up in my phone and hitting dial, “no paying anyone.”
Rachel’s eyes study my face as I bring my phone to my ear. “What are you doing?”
I hold a finger up to her to indicate to her to keep quiet while she glares at me like she might rip my hand off.
“Hi, Penny,” I say as she answers, my eyes glued firmly to Rachel’s. “Listen, I need you to reschedule everything for this week. I’m taking the week off.”
Penny’s silence tells me how shocked she is. I never take time off at short notice. Hell, I hardly ever take time off full stop. All credit to her, though, she quickly recovers and assures me she has it all in hand before I end the call. I’m giving her a bonus when I go back.
Rachel’s eyes widen. “What the hell did you do that for? I said I don’t need your help.”
I look at her eyes burning into mine—all that fire and passion in them.
Snow, baby, why won’t you let me do this for you? I want to do this for you.
“I’m not doing it for you,” I lie smoothly as she gives me a “that’s bullshit” look. “I’m doing it for Nigel.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I can’t stand by and do nothing, knowing that an animal’s well-being may be at stake.” I stare back at Rachel, my face serious, neither one of us wanting to back down first. Finally, she narrows her eyes at me, and I swear there’s a trace of a smile on her lips.
“Fine,” she huffs, “but you can’t paint in that.” Her eyes roam up and down my suit.
“I could take it off.” I smirk.
She sighs. “Just come back in the morning, Tanner. I’ve almost finished for today anyway, and I have to get some more paint for the morning.”
“Whatever you say, you’re the boss.” I grin. “I’ll be here first thing.”
This time I’m sure she smiles.
“Let me get this straight. You’ve taken a week off work to help this woman paint her house?” Drew looks at me as though I’ve grown another head. We’re sitting in our favorite after-work bar, a converted basement with a modern, industrial feel.
“Yes, for the tenth time.” I sigh, wondering how many more times we are going to go over this. “You’ll cope without me at work, and Penny has moved all my big meetings until next week,” I say, swirling the dark amber liquid in my glass. It was a poor choice of drink. The whisky just makes me think of that night.
“She’s hot, I’ll give you that. But you, missing work for a woman?” Drew shakes his head. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
“She’s not just the hottest woman I’ve ever met,” I say, searching for the right words to describe Rachel. How can you describe an attraction to someone that is so strong no amount of logic you use could ever help you understand it?
“There’s just something about her.” I blow out my breath and stare into my glass. “It doesn’t make sense. She acts like she hates me most of the time, but I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“Tan, you’ve got it bad.” Drew chuckles, slapping me on the back. “The sex must have been awesome.”
I swallow, remembering the way her skin tasted. “The way she’s acting, you’d think it never happened.”
“Women.” Drew rolls his eyes. “Never know what goes on in those minds of theirs,” he says as he takes a mouthful of his drink.
I look across at him. “You never told me how that blind double-date you went on was.”
“Ha! Yeah, that.” He smirks. “Turns out, my date was… not the sharpest knife in the drawer, shall we say? I don’t fancy spending my days talking about the latest celebrity wedding and nothing else.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be.” Drew’s eyes light up. “The other woman, Sophie, her name was—absolute knockout!”
“The one that was there with another man?” I ask, not sure where this is heading.
“Yeah, but she wasn’t interested in Logan. Not when he spent half the night looking down my date’s top, anyway.”
I shake my head, smiling; that sounds just like our mate Logan. Unfortunately, subtlety isn’t one of his strengths.
“So, this Sophie,” Drew continues, “was just up in London visiting her friend. Turns out, she’s a lawyer back in Bath. I’m telling you, Tan. You should have seen her. Absolutely gorgeous and so intelligent. Almost cleverer than me.”
My shoulders shake as I laugh into my glass. “Too clever for you, don’t you mean? And a lawyer. What the hell? I take it you didn’t tell her about your less than squeaky-clean past then?”
“Plenty of time for that,” Drew says smoothly. “I’m taking her out for dinner at the weekend in Bath.”
I can’t hide the surprise in my voice, “really? That was quick work.”
“Yeah.” He leans back in his chair. “She doesn’t know it yet, but we’re going to have a great night.”
“She doesn’t know she’s going for dinner with you yet?” I ask, looking at Drew.
“Minor details, Tan.” He waves his hand in the air dismissively. “We’ll have a great time. She will be glad she went.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Is this before or after you tell her about your criminal record? I’m sure a lawyer may have a thing or two to say about dating an ex-con.”
“Hey, don’t piss on my parade, Tan. I’ll tell her when the time’s right. Besides, I’m a reformed man, you know that. All that shit happened years ago.”
“I know, Drew. I’m just messing with you,” I say because it’s true. Drew is nothing like the bad boy he used to be growing up. He just got in with the wrong crowd for a bit. Ended up doing some time in a young offender’s institute for car theft. But now, he’s one of the straightest guys I know. Plus, he can’t lie for shit. It’s written all over his face when he tries.
“Oh, and it’s rain on my parade,” I say, “not piss.”
“Could have fooled me, mate. Besides, you’re one to talk. When are you going to tell Rachel about your secret, eh?” He eyes me over his glass.
I groan and lean back, loosening my tie. “I don’t know. Soon, real soon. Just not this week. If she flies off the handle like I expect she will, then I want to at least have been able to help her out this week first.”
Drew shakes his head again. “Fucking hell, man. You’ve got it bad. One night with this woman, and you’ve turned into a pussy.”
I stare straight ahead as I drink. What can I say? He’s right. One night with Rachel, and I’m all over the place. Doing things I wouldn’t usually do, losing focus at work. I need to get a fucking grip. The problem is all I can think about is getting a grip on her.
