Chapter Twenty-Seven – Jamie

 

“How could you!” I shouted it before I’d even stepped foot in the garage. “How could you leave me alone with her?”

Dex jumped, banging his head on a car hood. “Hi to you, too.”

I tossed my purse to the side. “Don’t you “hi” me, Dexter Ryne! You left me alone with my mother!”

He turned around, rubbing his hand across the back of his head. “The horror.”

“Don’t start with that!” I stalked across the garage and jabbed my finger against his chest. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, you little shit.”

“Hey, hey! That hurts!” He grabbed my wrist.

“Good!” I jabbed him with my other hand. “Maybe you know how painful that conversation was after you ran out on me!”

He grabbed my other wrist and met my eyes. “I didn’t run out on you. I had to get ready for work. You know that.”

“Oh, cut the bullshit,” I snapped. “You knew exactly what you were doing, and if I were a smarter woman, I’d have left with you to avoid that sweet hell!”

“It’s good to know we’re both traumatized by the events of this morning.”

“She asked me why you ran off. And I said, “Gee, Mom, maybe because you let yourself into my house and walked in on him practically naked?” and she didn’t see the problem. She didn’t see it, Dex!” I paused. “Can you let me go?”

He cast his gaze over my face. “No, I don’t think so. I think you might hurt yourself.”

I was pretty incensed.

“Then she shouted at me—at me!—because I demanded to take her key back and kicked her out.”

“You took back her key?”

“I forced her to give it back,” I corrected. “I told her that if she didn’t, next time, I’d make sure you were completely naked.”

“Next time!”

“If I forgive you for running out and leaving me to explain to my mother why the man who was naked in my kitchen is my boss!” I wrestled my hands free and smacked his chest.

Dex laughed and grabbed my hands again, this time linking his fingers between mine. “Well, if it helps, Aunt Greta was waiting for me at the front door and interrogated me.”

“Not at all.”

“My sister bugged the hell out of me.”

“I’d feel better if she didn’t do that on a daily basis.”

“I’m not going to get forgiven for this, am I?”

I stared at him. “There’s literally nothing you can do to make me feel better about the fact you abandoned me.” I pulled back from him, but his grip on my hands was too strong, and he pulled me right back against his body.

“Go to reception and look on the counter,” he said in a low voice.

I jerked back. “What? Why?”

“Don’t argue. Just do it.”

I eyed him for a moment, then pulled my hands out of his. He let me go, and I stared at him suspiciously before finally dragging my eyes away from him and walking into reception.

A large, brown envelope was sitting on the computer keyboard. My name was scrawled on the front in blocky capitals, and I picked the envelope up with a frown. It wasn’t particularly heavy or thick.

What the hell was inside?

I flipped it over to find that the flap was open. I hesitated for a second before I opened it and pulled the contents out halfway.

 

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

 

I dropped the envelope on the desk like it was on fire.

Was that—did that say what I thought it did?

I snatched it back up and looked. Yep. It did. It was a contract of employment.

And I was so confused.

I carried it back through to the workshop where Dex was waiting and staring at me already. “What is this?” I held it up.

He wiped his face with his shirt. “Exactly what it says it is.”

“Contract of employment? You’re hiring me?”

“I’m not firing you.”

“Is this how you’re going to get me to forgive you for abandoning me?”

“Wait, what?” He frowned, then his eyebrows shot up. “No—shit, no. The timing is a bit weird, I get it, but it’s coincidence, I promise.”

I frowned, looking at it and then back to him. “It’s not been three weeks.”

“I don’t think you need three weeks.” He held his hands out. “You proved me wrong. You belong here. Maybe more than I do.”

My heart thumped, and I looked down at the sheets in my hand. “Really?”

“Jamie.” Dex walked toward me and cupped my cheek. “I want you to work here. I want you to want to work here. I promise it’s just that simple. It has nothing to do with anything other than that.”

“I don’t know. I—”

“Cross my heart,” he said softly.

I opened my mouth but closed it again. I knew he was being honest. Those were his magic words, after all.

“Okay.” I smiled up at him.

He smiled right back.

“But I’m still not forgiving you for running out on me.”

He dropped his hand and groaned. “And here I was hoping you might take mercy on me.”

I slid the contract back inside the envelope, folded it, and whacked his arm with it. “No mercy. I might never forgive you for it.”

“Would another orgasm help?”

“Doesn’t this,” I waved the contract, “stop any inappropriateness?”

Dex snatched it off me. “Let me go rewrite that.”

I took it right back. “Nope. I saw something about tacos. I don’t want you to accidentally take that back. I can live without shenanigans.”

“Do you actually think I’d remove your right to have tacos twice a week for lunch? I’d be taking away my own. That would be counterproductive.”

“Twice a week, huh? Who’s driving to get them?”

“Both of us. We go once a week.”

I tilted my head to the side. “I’ll let you add in shenanigans if you do both the taco trips.”

He stared at me. “Man, you drive a hard bargain.”

“You can’t have everything.”

“You’re the one who gets shenanigans and doesn’t have to drive to the next town over to get tacos twice a week.”

“And I’ll forgive you for abandoning me.”

“For the last time, I didn’t abandon you. And I got my own ass-kicking from my aunt.”

I folded my arms. “My mother saw you pretty much naked. That means I win.”

He groaned and held out a hand. “Fine. I’ll write that all in.”

I handed it to him. “Thank you.” I waited until he was basically in the staff room before I said, “And, by the way, my mother wants to talk to you.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, shit. Is that the phone?” I ran to reception where I knew it wasn’t ringing.

“Jamie! Goddamn it!”

Revenge was a dish best served…well, usually cold, but this was red-hot.

And so, so satisfying.

 

***

 

“And what, exactly, are your intentions with my daughter?”

Dex blinked at my father. “I’m sorry, sir?”

Dad quirked an eyebrow. “You hired her past the trial today, did you not?”

“Yes. I did.”

I hid my smile behind my hand and scratched beneath Barbie’s ear with the other.

“Well? What are your intentions? Is this full-time? Will she get freedom in the garage?”

Dex visibly relaxed. “It’ll be a continuation of what she’s been doing for the past two weeks.”

“Which is?”

“Kicking his ass,” I replied.

“Yeah,” Dex agreed. “That’s pretty much as close as we’re gonna get to the truth.”

Dad looked at me with a smile. “That’s my girl.”

I returned the smile with a grin of my own. “Like you’d ever doubt that.”

“Of course not. But it’s nice to see you with someone who seems like a decent guy and obviously respects you.”

Now. Respects me now. But better late than never, right?

“Oh.” Mom’s voice came from the doorway. “So, you told your father you’re seeing each other?”

And just like that, you could hear a pin drop.

No, seriously, my dad even muted the TV.

Dex stared at me. I met his eyes briefly before looking at my mom. She still had her floral oven mitts on her hands.

“Mom,” I said wearily.

“Who’s seeing who?” asked Dad.

Mom started speaking before I could say a word. “I went to see Jamie this morning and young Dex here was a...visitor.”

I scooped Barbie off my lap onto the cushion next to me. “I knew this was a bad idea. I knew it.”

“Jamie—”

“Mrs. Bell, do you mind if I go?” I heard Dex ask before I slammed the back door.

I stepped out onto the porch and zipped up my sweater. I’d only gone along with my mom’s idea for dinner because I never expected her to blurt that out.

And, I mean, technically, we weren’t seeing each other. Not officially. Not really. I’d certainly never said anything like that to make her feel like we were.

Right now, as far as I was concerned, we were two people who were attracted to each other, who happened to work together, and who happened to act on that attraction a couple times.

It didn’t really matter if I got butterflies whenever our eyes met or if my stomach flipped every time he touched me. It didn’t matter at all that my heart beat crazy fast more often than it was normal when it was around.

And it most definitely didn’t matter that there was nothing better than falling asleep in his arms last night.

And because of all that, it really, really didn’t matter that my feelings toward him had changed from something twisted and angry to something softer and more consuming than anything I’d ever felt.

No, it didn’t matter at all.

Not even a little bit.

“Jamie?” Dex stepped out onto the porch.

I looked back at him but said nothing, wrapping my arms around my waist.

The door clicked shut and he came to stand next to me. Nudging me with his elbow, he leaned in slightly and said, “Hey. I don’t think I mix well with your family.”

I quietly laughed and dipped my face down to look at the ground. “I don’t mix well with my family. I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“My mom. If you want to go…Nobody would blame you.”

“Nah, you’re all good. After all, everything happens in threes. I figure she’s already embarrassed me twice today, so what’s one more time?”

I groaned and looked over at him. “Don’t tempt fate. Please. This has been bad enough.”

He put his hands in his pockets. “Well, if it makes a difference, your dad was more annoyed that your mom has been meddling than anything else.”

“It’s a habit.” I moved back to sit on the swinging seat.

Dex joined me. “Yeah. I got that from the whole salt and sugar story thing.”

I let go of a little laugh and leaned right back. “My God. She’s the worst. She’s so embarrassing. I don’t even know why she said that. I didn’t tell her a thing this morning and—”

Resting one arm along the back of the chair, he hooked one finger beneath my chin and turned my head so our eyes met. “Does it matter?”

“Does what matter?”

“What she said. Do you care?”

“Of course, I care. I mean—”

“Why? Why do you care?”

I swallowed, looking into his bright yet gentle eyes. “Because,” I said softly. “I don’t even—I don’t even know what’s happening right now. And she just blurts it out.”

He released my chin to push my hair from my face. “I get it.”

“And you offer me the job at a really coincidental time, and I know you weren’t lying, but it feels weird, and then my mom—”

Dex dipped his head and pressed his lips to mine to shut me up. “I know it looks that way,” he said in a low voice. “But I swear to you, Jamie, it’s not. The way I feel about you has nothing to do with me hiring you.”

He froze as if he realized what he just said.

“The way you…feel about me?” I swallowed, leaning back. “Which is…what?”

“I…” He hesitated before he ran his fingers through my hair. “I want you, Jamie. Every way I can have you. I don’t know how else to say it.”

I smiled and tilted my face down. My cheeks burned, but there was no denying the thrill that danced through me at his words. I didn’t know how I’d come to this point, but we had.

Two weeks wasn’t long, but I knew, categorically, I felt something for this man. Something very, very real. Something that had crept up between the arguments and the bickering and the kissing.

It didn’t matter that I’d only just really recognized it.

The one thing I didn’t need was my mother doing so before I did.

“Well, I guess that’s okay,” I muttered.

“Okay? What do you mean, okay?” He sank his fingers into my hair and tugged my head back.

I grinned.

“You’re a pain in the ass,” he said, closing the distance between our mouths until our lips touched. It was barely a brush, but it tingled across my skin all the same.

“I’m not going to let up on you, you know. I’m still going to kick your ass all the time.” I rested my head on his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less. But at least I can smack your ass now.”

“Is that right?”

Dex looped his arm around my body and linked his fingers together, resting his head on top of mine. “I’ll let you smack mine right back.”

I snorted. “Done.”

“Should we go inside and explain ourselves to your parents?”

“Nah. Let my mom stew.”

The back door opened right as I said that, and I jolted upright. It was Dad, and he pulled the door almost closed. His gaze darted between the two of us, and a smile tugged at his lips.

“I guess you’re going to let your mother think about what she said,” he said, letting his smile grow.

I grinned and leaned back into Dex.

Dad saluted and walked back inside, letting the door click shut.

Dex kissed my forehead, and I knew that somehow…

I’d won.