Chapter Five
Nick had two brake jobs still to do, and he was working on a transmission when Rob hollered at him.
“Your phone’s been vibrating all across the desk for an hour.”
Shit. He didn’t like to keep his phone on him when he was working on a car. Bad enough his jeans and the rest of him would end up covered in grease and dirt.
“Okay, thanks, Rob.” He finished connecting the brake line and slid out from under the Ford, grabbed a shop rag to wipe his hands, and went into the office. Rob was in there on the laptop.
“What’s the status on the carburetor for that Mustang?” he asked as he picked up his phone.
“Finished it and doing the invoice now. I already called the customer to let them know it was ready. Next up is the oil pump job.”
Nick nodded and checked his phone. Two missed calls from Ellie.
Damn. He frowned, hoping nothing was wrong with Henry. He checked his voice mail.
“Hi, Nick. Nothing urgent. Someone at the hospital just gave me two tickets to a holiday party tonight at the community center. It’s a fundraiser, and guests need to bring an unwrapped toy. Anyway, I was hoping you’d go with me. I already got a sitter for Henry. It’s at six, so just text me and let me know, okay?”
He went to the next message.
“It’s me again. I’ll get the toy on my way home from work. Oh, and there’s food at the party, so no cooking. How great is that?”
That was the end of the message. He stared at his phone, wondering what alien had possessed Ellie. Sure, the holiday party sounded fine, and who didn’t like food, but her voice had sounded way off and unnatural.
Her behavior had been odd lately. Then again, it was the holidays, and she always acted odd around the holidays. But not this kind of odd. Typically she’d withdraw and she wasn’t doing that. This was different in a way he couldn’t put his finger on.
Whatever. He sent her a text. Party sounds fine.
He shook his head and tossed his phone back on the desk.
“Everything okay at home?” Rob asked.
Rob and Nick had gone to high school together and knew everything about each other’s lives. Rob had stood by him—and by Ellie—when John had died.
“Yeah. Ellie wants to go to some fundraiser dinner toy thing tonight.”
“Oh, the one at the community center,” Rob said. “Melissa wanted to drag me to that.”
“So you’re going?”
Rob looked over at the shop. “Nah. I have work that’ll keep me going until at least six thirty tonight. Plus I might have told Melissa that you need me to close the shop tonight, that way I don’t have to go.”
“Convenient.”
“Yeah, I thought so. Anyway, Melissa will be there. She heard there’ll be wine. She’ll drop RJ at her parents’ and have her dad watch him so her mom can drive and she can drink.”
Nick laughed. “Got it all planned out, does she?”
“You know it. So how’s the brake work going?”
“It’s a pain in my ass. The brakes were toast. I don’t know how the customer was stopping their car. They should have put new brakes on a year ago.”
Rob laughed. “Maybe they were swinging their foot out the door and using their boot.”
Nick snorted and went back to work. He finished up by five. After he washed up, Nick checked his phone again. Ellie had left him a message earlier saying she had left work on time and she was picking Henry up.
He drove home and pulled his truck in behind Ellie’s car. He got out and went inside.
It was quiet. Typically, Henry would run and greet him at the door.
“Ellie?”
She didn’t answer, either. He figured she must be in her room getting ready, so he went into his, stripped out of his clothes and tossed them in the hamper, then got into the shower to scrub off the grease and grime from today’s work. After he showered, he put on clean jeans, then paused. He opened the door to his room and walked across the house and down the hall to Ellie’s. He knocked on her door.
She opened it a crack, her eyes widening. “What’s up?”
“Should I be dressed up? And where’s Henry?”
She took in his bare chest, and he noticed her gaze lingered there before drifting back to his face. “Henry’s over at Oscar’s for dinner. As far as clothes, a shirt would be appropriate.”
“Funny. Like a button-down?”
She chewed her bottom lip. “Tonight is casual. You can wear what you want.”
“Okay.” He started to walk away.
“Nick?”
He paused. “Yeah?”
“Wear that navy blue button-down.”
Curious, he asked, “Why?”
She shrugged. “Because it looks good on you.”
Huh. “Sure.”
He wandered off, wondering if that lingering gaze she’d given him had been his imagination, or had she really stared at his bare chest? Like, an extra-long stare that maybe indicated she was ogling his chest.
Or maybe his interest in her was making him see things that weren’t there.
He grabbed the navy button-down and finished getting dressed, then went into the kitchen and filled a glass with ice water, guzzling it down in a few swallows. He looked down the hall, wondering what Ellie was going to wear tonight.
She’d barely opened the door a crack when he’d knocked on it, making him wonder what had been going on inside her bedroom. Had she been half-dressed like he’d been half-dressed? His mind filled with visuals of Ellie in her underwear.
Or even less.
Take it down a notch, Nick.
“I’m ready.”
He looked up. His gut clenched at the sight of her in tight dark jeans, high heels, and a black long-sleeved shirt that hugged her body. She wore that same delicate silver chain she always wore, the one that disappeared under the shirt, making him wonder how far down the chain went. He’d like to go exploring that chain, along with other parts of her body.
“You look really nice,” he said, trying to keep his comment friendly. In the friend zone. Where it belonged.
“Thanks. Although I’m just wearing jeans.”
Didn’t matter. Nick thought she always looked great. But he knew what she meant and didn’t want to make things weird, so he gave her a teasing look. “Your dressy jeans. With heels. Fancy.”
She laughed. “I am not. Okay, maybe a little. I live in scrubs and tennis shoes. And when we go out to eat, it’s usually with Henry. So maybe I wanted to dress it up just a touch tonight.”
“It works for you.” He wanted to tell her she looked sexy, but after his totally inappropriate comment the other night, he kept that thought to himself.
They put their coats on and got into his truck.
“So what’s this thing we’re going to tonight?” he asked as he backed down the driveway.
“It’s a toy collection and fundraiser for the children’s center. Our tickets were paid for by the hospital. Otherwise, it’s twenty dollars a plate and all the proceeds go to the center. And everyone donates a toy.”
“Sounds great. Hope the food is good.”
“It will be. It’s being catered by Zia’s.”
“Then I can’t wait.”
They parked in the lot at the community center and walked through the doors to the gym. This was Nick’s neighborhood. He’d grown up here and John and he used to play basketball in the yard after school and on the weekends. Every kid, regardless of circumstance, had always been welcome. He understood how important it was for kids to have a place to go to, especially kids who didn’t have anywhere else. Even if Ellie hadn’t gotten the tickets for free, he’d have gladly ponied up forty bucks for them to attend.
The place was filled with people and they had holiday decorations on all the tables and a Christmas tree in the corner. Lights were strung up along the ceiling and holiday music played softly in the background.
More importantly, it smelled good in there. It looked like there was a bar set up at the front of the hall.
They dropped off the toys they’d brought at the table near the entrance.
“What would you like to drink?” he asked.
She gave him a thoughtful look. “Um, how about a rum and cola?”
“You got it.”
He went to the bar and ordered Ellie’s drink, plus a whiskey and soda for himself. When he turned around, he had to look for a bit before he found Ellie. She was standing over by a group of people, Rob’s wife, Melissa, included in that group, so he wandered that way.
“Here you go,” he said, handing her the drink.
“Thank you.”
“Hey, Melissa,” Nick said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Rob said he was working late deliberately to avoid coming tonight.”
Melissa laughed. “I’m going to tell him you said that.”
“Go ahead.” He took a sip of his whiskey.
Ellie grasped his arm. “Nick, this is Amanda and Paul Satterfield. They’re the organizers of the event.”
Nick shook their hands. “Nice to meet both of you. This is a great thing you’re doing.”
“We’re happy to do it,” Paul said.
“And it’s such an amazing turnout tonight,” Amanda said. “We couldn’t be happier.”
“My brother and I grew up on the basketball courts here,” Nick said. “I don’t know what we would have done without the community center.”
Paul nodded. “Me, too. You look about the same age as me. We probably played each other a time or two.”
Nick grinned. “It’s likely. If we did, I probably kicked your butt.”
Paul laughed. “I don’t think so. I was pretty good.”
Nick and Paul spent some time talking about their childhoods and their basketball prowess, until Ellie came and dragged him away. He told Paul he’d catch up with him later.
“I thought we’d take a look at the silent auction. There’s a smoker I thought we might bid on.”
“Great idea.”
They looked at the smoker, and it was a decent brand, so they put in a bid. Then Ellie disappeared, so Nick checked out the other items up for bid. He saw a delicate silver bracelet that he thought Ellie might like. He looked around for Ellie, didn’t see her, so he quickly wrote his name down on the bid sheet, making a mental note to check back later.
He finished his whiskey, so he laid it on a tray near the wall, then went back to the bar and got a beer.
“Didn’t expect to see you here.”
He turned to see Mike Laird, one of his friends from the neighborhood. He grinned. “You, either.”
Mike shrugged. “Cathie made me come. Okay, and there’s food from Zia’s.”
Nick laughed. “I’ve never known you to turn down food of any kind.”
“Hey, it took years to cultivate this.” Mike rubbed his oversized belly.
Just then, Cathie came over. “Hey, Nick.”
“Hi, Cathie. I see you managed to wrangle Mike into coming tonight because of the food.”
Ellie showed up at his side. “Hey, you were enticed by the food, too. Hi, you two.”
“Hi, Ellie. Did you see the pottery that Grace Liston created that’s up at the silent auction?”
“I didn’t. Show me.” Ellie looked over at him and smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
Nick nodded and watched her walk away with Cathie.
He liked seeing her with her friends. He liked whenever they went out with another couple, something they both enjoyed doing. Maybe tonight he could start talking to her about the two of them becoming a couple. The way she’d looked at him earlier made him think she might be receptive to the idea.
“So where’s Henry tonight?” Mike asked.
Nick focused his attention away from Ellie and onto Mike. “He’s at a friend’s house. What about your kids?”
“With my parents. Oh, hey, that reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about my Dodge.”
Nick figured being an auto mechanic was a lot like being a doctor. You were often asked for free diagnostic advice when in social situations. Nick listened to Mike describe the knocking sound coming from the engine of his truck. It sounded like a water pump issue, but without looking at it, there was no way he could know for sure.
“Bring it in and I’ll look at it.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll run it by sometime within the next few days.”
Ellie and Cathie came back, and Cathie wanted to show Mike something on the auction row, so they left.
“I’m getting hungry,” Nick said. “When’s the food being served?”
Ellie looked at her watch. “It’s almost seven thirty, so it should be pretty soon. Should we go to our table?”
“Sounds good. Do you need another drink?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine with just one. Tomorrow’s a workday.”
He nudged against her. “Lightweight.”
“Hey. Five a.m. comes early, you know.”
The hospital had a reserved table. Ellie knew several of the people there and she spent some time chatting and introducing Nick to a couple of administrative types.
“Nick, this is Rachel Morgan. She’s in public relations for the hospital.”
They shook hands. “Hi, Rachel.”
“I actually have some business things to discuss with our director of nursing,” Ellie said. “Rachel is new to the hospital staff. Nick, why don’t you sit next to her?”
He’d done work events with Ellie before, so he was used to talking up people she worked with. And, knowing Ellie, she’d want to make sure any new employee felt comfortable. “Sure. Have a seat, Rachel.”
Rachel was pretty, petite, with short blond hair and green eyes.
“So, new job, huh?” Nick asked.
Rachel nodded. “New job, new living arrangements, new city, as a matter of fact.”
“Oh, yeah? Where’d you move from?”
“Los Angeles.”
He raised a brow. “Then this is a big change for you, weather-wise and otherwise.”
“It is. But I wanted to get out of L.A. and into a smaller city. When the offer came from the hospital here, I knew it would be perfect for me.”
“So why the change?”
She leaned back in the chair, obviously more comfortable now. “The congestion. The traffic. The cost of living. I was starting to feel like I was spending all of my time in the car commuting to and from work. And when I wasn’t doing that, I was sitting at my kitchen table paying bills that were taking up my entire paycheck with no money left over to have a life.”
He couldn’t imagine working just to pay bills. “That’s no way to live.”
“No, it’s not. I knew I needed to get out of there.”
“Well, if it eases some of your anxiety, I think you’re going to love it here. Friendly people, there’s a lot to do, and your commute won’t be anything like it was.”
She smiled, and he had to admit when Rachel smiled, it lit up her face. “I agree about the commute. I’ve already rented a place that’s only ten minutes from the hospital. It’s still hard to believe I won’t spend three hours in the car every day.”
Whoa. “Three hours. Really?”
“That was on a good day.”
“Wow.”
“So enough about me. What do you do, Nick?”
“I own an auto repair shop.”
“Oh, my dad was a mechanic. He made me learn how to change my own oil and change a tire before I could get a driver’s license.”
Nick laughed. “That sounds about right.”
“I was so irritated at the time, figuring I’d never have to do that. Until the first time the old junker I’d bought when I was fresh out of college got a flat tire. I realized I could change it myself. It was an enlightening experience not to need someone to rescue me.”
“Good for you.”
He glanced across the table and noticed Ellie watching them.
When Rachel excused herself to go to the restroom, Ellie shifted into Rachel’s seat.
“So…how’s it going?”
“How’s what going?”
“You know…your conversation with Rachel.”
“Oh. It’s going fine.”
Ellie laid her chin in her hand. “She’s so pretty. Plus she’s incredibly smart. And her being new in town means she doesn’t know a lot of people. Maybe you could, I don’t know, take her out and show her around or something?”
Nick frowned. He felt as if he’d entered some weird alternate universe, the kind he liked watching on late-night movies on TV. Only this felt a little too real.
“What are you doing, Ellie?”
Ellie straightened. “I’m not doing anything.”
“Yeah, you are. You’re trying to fix me up with Rachel, aren’t you?”
She grabbed his arm. “Nick, she’s awesome. You should totally go for it.”
What. The. Hell?
The thought of Ellie pushing him toward Rachel both shocked and irritated him.
Maybe all that flirting and her ogling his chest and his thoughts about the two of them being a couple had all been in his head. Because here was Ellie, throwing him at another woman.
They couldn’t be further apart in terms of their feelings for each other.
Shit.
But before he could say anything, Ellie caught sight of Rachel coming out of the restroom and quickly slid back into her chair, leaving him alone to smile at Rachel.
“I’d love to get to know the city better,” Rachel said. “And you know, find someone to show me around.”
Shit. That had been an indirect but direct way of asking him to ask her out. And Rachel was a nice, extremely attractive woman he had absolutely no interest in dating.
He really hated to do this since Rachel seemed like a great woman who deserved an amazing guy.
Nick just wasn’t the right guy for her.
He’d noticed Ellie had set herself up to sit clear across the table from him. She’d told Nick she had some business stuff to discuss with her department head. He figured that was bullshit, but at least she’d be out of earshot, which would work to his benefit.
Over dinner, he and Rachel discussed sports.
“Do you like football?” she asked.
“Oh, hell yeah,” he said, leaning back in his chair like the absolute slacker he wasn’t. “I have a man cave set up in the basement of my house. I spend almost all of my free time down there.”
She blinked. “A man cave?”
“Sure. A guy’s gotta have his space, ya know? A place where women aren’t allowed. Where I can drink my beer and hang out with my boys, play my video games, watch sports, all without being bothered. I mean, I got my fantasy leagues to catch up on, too. I stay pretty busy.”
“Uh-huh.”
He saw that bright light of interest in Rachel’s pretty green eyes extinguish as he went on and on about his oh-so-awesome and totally nonexistent man cave. To put the cherry on top, he also told her he kept his laptop down there and no one else was allowed to touch it.
She probably thought he surfed porn sites in the middle of the night, too.
He really hated doing this, but since she’d been so close to asking him out herself, he wanted to be the bad guy and give her an out. And, judging from the grimace she’d sported all through the meal, he’d succeeded.
After dinner, Rachel excused herself, saying she had some people she had to talk to. He’d never seen anyone make an escape so fast. Not that he could blame her. He’d sounded like a narcissistic, juvenile dickhead. He could barely stand himself.
Hopefully someday Rachel would find an amazing guy.
Nick made his way to the bar for a beer. Ellie found him there.
“Where’s Rachel?”
“No idea.”
“So you two didn’t hit it off?”
“I guess not.”
He saw the disappointment on her face. It frustrated the hell out of him that she’d be unhappy he didn’t hit it off with another woman.
“Oh. That’s too bad.”
“Yeah.” He wasn’t about to ask her why she’d tried to fix him up with Rachel. At least not tonight. He needed to check his own feelings about this situation. And about Ellie and whether he was pushing too hard for something that might be in his own damn imagination.
“Should we check the status of the smoker?” she asked.
“Sure.”
They walked over to the auction tables.
“Dammit,” Ellie said. “There are three bids ahead of ours. And now the price is too high for us to rebid.”
“Is not.” He took out the pen and wrote down another bid.
Ellie grasped his bicep. “Nick. Don’t. We don’t need a smoker that badly.”
He looked down at her and smiled. “It’s for a good cause. We’ll see how it goes.”
“Okay.”
“Ellie, can I steal you for a minute?”
A woman he didn’t know grabbed her and tugged her away, which gave Nick time to go look at the bracelet.
Well, hell. His bid had been buried under about fifteen others. But the price was still reasonable.
He hesitated, wondering if he should even bother, considering what had happened tonight. If Ellie was so hell-bent on pushing him on some other woman, maybe he should consider getting her something a little less personal for Christmas.
He looked over at her, and it was like she could feel his gaze on her. She turned and smiled at him.
Ah, screw it. He knew how he felt. He wrote his name down again for the bracelet.
He’d sort out his feelings later.
Ellie was so disappointed that Nick and Rachel hadn’t connected. She was certain they had so much in common. Plus, Rachel was beautiful and smart and sweet. She didn’t understand it. When she’d questioned Rachel, she’d only said Nick was a nice guy but she didn’t feel a connection.
How could someone not connect to Nick? He was funny and intelligent and incredibly hot.
Though she had to admit when Rachel had told her there hadn’t been a spark, she’d felt a wash of relief. And then had immediately felt guilty about it. The whole purpose of trying to fix Nick up with Rachel was to give him that push to move on with his life.
Rachel just hadn’t been the right fit for Nick.
She’d have to do better next time.
The auction ended, and winners were given envelopes to pay. Unfortunately, they didn’t win the smoker. She went in search of Nick but couldn’t find him. She stopped to talk to a few people, and Nick caught up with her while she was in the midst of a conversation with a couple of women from Henry’s preschool.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Yes. I went looking for you but I couldn’t find you.”
“I was talking to some guys I knew.”
She could have sworn she had walked around the entire gym searching for him, but she supposed it was possible she’d missed him. “Oh, okay.”
“Let’s get our coats if you’re ready.”
“I am.”
They got in the car and drove off. On the way, she got a text message from Oscar’s mom.
“It seems as if Henry and Oscar fell asleep playing in Oscar’s room. Shelley said Henry can spend the night and we can pick him up in the morning.”
Nick pulled up to a stop sign, then craned his neck to look at her. “Hey, that means we have a free night. It’s still early. Want to hit a bar?”
She tilted her head to the side. “Um, I don’t know.”
“You have to think about it? Come on, Ellie. We hardly ever get a free night out.”
She had wanted him to be out with Rachel, not her. But he was right. They rarely had a free night, which again made her feel guilty for monopolizing his entire life with her entire life. If nothing else, Nick deserved to have some fun tonight, even if it was with her.
She nodded. “Sure.”
He cast a heart-stopping smile at her. “Great. I know just the place.”
Even his smile was devastating, and how could Rachel not see that? It made everything female in Ellie sit up and take notice. Her palms felt clammy and her heart did a little flip-flop whenever he gave her that smile.
He drove them to The Cue in Webster Groves, which was a favorite local hangout to play pool. They hadn’t been in a while, so she was excited at the idea of taking some time to just kick back and relax, to be adults and have some fun.
When they were walking inside, he looked over at her. “I’m going to kick your butt.”
She slanted a grin at him. “You’d like to think that.”
They had to wait for a table. But there were TV screens and a great bar, so they grabbed a table near the bar and a couple of drinks.
“When was the last time we played?” she asked as she took a sip of her beer.
“I don’t know. Couple of months ago, maybe?”
“You might be right. Why are we always so busy?”
“’Cause we have jobs and a kid?”
She almost winced at the “we” part of that sentence. Nick was so responsible, but Henry was her responsibility, not Nick’s. He should be free to go out and play pool, to date, to find a woman to fall in love with. And someday, get married and have a child of his own.
Just thinking about it made her stomach ache. Which made her angry because she had no claim on Nick.
He wasn’t hers. So why was she wishing he was? Why did she want him to put his arm around her, to hug her close, to plant a hot kiss on her lips and let everyone in the bar know she belonged to him?
Whoa. Calm that mental noise and wishful thinking, Ellie, because that definitely isn’t going to happen.
They were friends and she had to keep reminding herself of that.
Their table opened up, so Nick racked the balls and they got started. Ellie broke, and two balls slid into the pocket. She shot Nick a smug look.
Nick held up his cue and smirked. “Don’t get too excited, El. We’re just getting started.”
Three games in, Nick had won two games and she was about to win the third. Two more balls to sink and the win was hers. She was also achingly aware of Nick as they circled each other around the pool table, teasing and taunting.
Like now, as he came close and whispered in her ear, “You’re going to miss.”
He might be challenging her to lose, but he was also challenging everything female within her to resist turning around and climbing him like a monkey. He smelled so damn good and her libido, which had been firmly shut down for years, had suddenly awakened with a vengeance and demanded satisfaction.
Well, her sex drive was going to be sorely disappointed because Nick was off-limits. She intended to find Nick an awesome woman so he could start a life of his own and stop feeling responsible for Henry and her.
She sank the last ball and shot him a triumphant grin. “My win.”
He gave her a half curved smile that did nothing to silence her hormonal thoughts.
Touch him. Grab what’s in front of you and have at it, sister. He’s so hot. Are you going to kiss him or not?
Gah!
She went to the bar for an ice-cold sparkling water to hopefully cool down the internal heat, because the couple of beers she’d downed so far hadn’t helped at all.
When she’d evened things up by winning the fourth game, they decided to head home.
She was deep into her thoughts on the way home, most of them centered around Nick. How hot he’d looked holding the pool cue. How great his butt had looked when he’d bent over the pool table. The way the muscles in his forearms flexed when he took a shot. The way the overhead light made his hair look even darker midnight than usual.
Oh, damn, she really had it bad.
“Tired?” Nick asked as he pulled onto their street.
“Maybe a little.” Not tired at all. Pent up and turned on was more like it.
“I guess it’s time to go to bed, then.”
Yes. Bed. Together. Naked, sweaty, writhing limbs and…
Oh, dear God she had to stop this line of thinking. It was not going to happen.
Nick barely had the car in park before she hopped out and ran inside. She tossed her purse on the counter and went to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She took several long swallows, set the glass down, and followed up with a few deep breaths.
She jumped when Nick came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his lips nearly touching her cheek.
She tried not to tense, but all she’d thought about for the past couple of hours was Nick’s touch. “Nothing. I’m just tired.”
He drew gentle, massaging circles over her shoulders. She knew he meant it to relax her, but all it did was turn her on.
“Something’s going on.”
Something was going on, all right. She was damp, aroused, and seconds away from turning around and ripping his shirt off—with her teeth. Which would be the worst idea ever. It was bad enough he felt responsible for her and for Henry. If they added sex into the mix, he’d never feel free enough to move on with his life.
She eased out of his grasp. “Really, I’m just tired. And I’ve got a headache.”
Yeah, she had an ache all right, but nowhere near the vicinity of her head.
He frowned. “Want me to rub your temples for you?”
There were so many parts of her she wanted him to rub she almost whimpered thinking about it. “No, I think I’ll take a couple acetaminophen and head to bed. Night, Nick.”
She grabbed her water and fled the room, quickly heading to her bedroom. She shut the door and blew out a sigh of relief.
Only there was no relief in sight for her. After she washed her face, brushed her teeth, and climbed into bed, all she felt was pent up and anxious, her body so tuned into Nick she could still smell him.
The sooner she found him someone the sooner this ache for him would go away.
She hoped.