CHAPTER THIRTY
That shut him up.
Derek did nothing but stare at Jenny for a long, painful minute. Then he said, eloquently, “Shit.”
She kissed him. This time he yielded when she tried to roll him over. She stretched out and sighed happily. Propping her chin on her stacked fists, she watched him think.
“Lila cannot keep a secret to save her life,” he grumbled.
“Why did you even try to keep it a secret from me?”
“Are you kidding?”
Apparently it was obvious to Derek. It was still a mystery to Jenny. “No, I’m not kidding.”
He pressed a hand to the small of her back as if to hold her there. As if she was going anywhere. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted you?”
“Days and weeks?”
“Months. Years. Sometimes I think I’ve always wanted you, Jen. And then I got you.” His fingers spread wide. “You were free of Dean, of Sterling, you were giving in at last, and then Marshall hit me with the news that he’s retiring. Turned me into what has to be the least attractive romantic proposition in the world to a woman who divorced a husband who ruined her financially, and followed that up with dating a fucking billionaire.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Go ahead and stop worrying about Gabe. Pretend he’s irrelevant.”
“If I’d told you I was facing a financial struggle, you would have shut me down.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Jen. Our entire courting history pretty much consists of you shutting me down. Over and over again.”
He had a point.
For God’s sake, the first time they’d gotten close to starting a real relationship, she’d used Gabe as an excuse.
“So, you were going to get me good and stuck on you before you revealed that I’d hitched myself to another financially-troubled man?” she said.
“When you phrase it like that, I sound—”
“Ruthless? Not quite the gentleman everyone thinks you are, and I have the splinters in my ass to prove it?” She ticked the list off on her fingers. “You are also determined, patient, creative.”
He nudged his hips into hers. “Spectacular lover.”
“Spectacular lover,” she agreed. “Thanks for reminding me. And most importantly, you are going to let me co-sign a loan, because I have some money saved, and I believe in you.” She yelped when he snatched her hand, curled it into a fist, and held it between his palms.
“I am not taking your money.”
“We’ll discuss it.”
“Will we, now?”
“Yes. We’ll discuss everything. Because I’m in, Derek. I love you. I’m with you. All the way. I want, and I need, all of you. As in, this.” She stroked his erection. “And this.” She stretched up to kiss his furrowed forehead. “But most of all—” keeping her eyes on his, she lowered to press her lips over his heart and whispered, “—this.”
How d’you like me now, Tate? You’re not the only one who can be romantic.
Slowly, Derek sat up. Jenny’s pulse accelerated.
He tipped her off him, set her on the couch and stood, zipping up his jeans.
“Wha—” she began.
Gripping her jaw, he bent to lay a devastating kiss on her stunned lips. “Do. Not. Move.”
He strode out.
“Derek!”
He reappeared in the doorway, wrenching his T-shirt on over his head. “Condoms,” he said. “Going to get them. Lots of condoms.” He pointed at her. “Stay there. Stay naked. I’ll be...” He ran back in, kissed her again, then ran out, yelling from the hall. “Stay!”
“Derek!”
He groaned and swung back into view. “What?”
“Can you pick up a pizza while you’re in town?”
“You got it.”
* * * *
Derek slipped out of bed the next morning, trying not to wake Jenny. She flailed upright the moment he moved, looking around in a panic.
“Hey,” he said, sitting on the edge of the mattress. “I’m here.”
Jenny flopped back, yawning. “Morning.”
“I’m heading out,” he told her. “Got to get to work.”
She swiped for her alarm clock and squinted at the display. “How can you possibly be awake? It’s still early.”
He’d gotten back with the condoms and the pizza, and they’d worked their way through both. It was three a.m. before Derek had fallen asleep, with Jenny draped over him in what he’d learned was her favorite position. Now, her eyelids were heavy. She yawned again. She was exhausted.
Derek, on the other hand, was wired.
Jenny threw back the covers. “I’ll make you breakfast before you go.”
He tossed the covers over her face and she fought them before she emerged, spluttering. He leaned down, pulling the quilt tight over her arms and trapping her. “No need.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Bring me coffee later instead.”
“Will do.”
He grinned, and left.
Riding his bike into Emerson, Derek had plenty of time for thought. A lot of that thinking time was spent on Jenny. The taste, the feel, the sweet reality of having won her. Made him feel like a goddamn king, to hear her say those words, I love you.
Even though the fate of his garage was a dark cloud on the horizon, Derek’s eyes were filled with the sun. He’d find a way to make it work.
If he could get Jenny Finley to love him, finding new premises for Rawlings’ Auto Repairs would be a piece of cake.
He’d miss this place, though. He unlocked the gates and drove onto the forecourt. He wouldn’t miss the stress it had caused since Marshall blindsided him. From start to finish, it had all had happened so quickly. He’d assumed this kind of sale took time, with months of back-and-forth negotiations and legal processes, but the garage had been yanked out from under him in a matter of weeks.
It had taken longer to buy his apartment.
The buyer must be as motivated as Rawlings, was his best guess.
He’d find out soon enough. If he was lucky, he might not have to move, might even get a better rental agreement out of the whole situation. If he was less lucky, he’d have the nightmare logistics of packing up the workshop and shipping it to a new location. Either way, he’d manage.
Derek started work fitting a new exhaust pipe to an old Toyota, playing the stereo loud. He didn’t hear the car drive in, but the movement alerted him and he glanced over, expecting Burke.
A sleek black vehicle ghosted to a stop.
Derek strode over to the stereo and switched it off. He stood in the open bay door, arms braced over his chest, as Gabe Sterling unfolded from his Aston Martin.
“Your car makes a hell of a statement,” Derek said to the man.
Sterling took off his mirrored aviators and hooked them in the front of his T-shirt. “You know, I’ve heard that before. What does it say to you?”
“I’m a pretentious dick.”
“Yes, but what does the car say to you?” When Derek didn’t crack a smile, Sterling winked. “I’ve heard the pretentious thing before, too.”
“I’m shocked.”
Sterling skimmed a palm over the pristine black hood, and gave it a fond pat. “No one’s ever said it about my girl, though.”
Derek grunted, eyeing the car. “What’s the problem?”
Derek hoped it was a biggie. He didn’t wish Sterling ill—poor bastard lost out on Jenny, after all, and Derek could be magnanimous—but he’d love the chance to have a poke around. He was a great mechanic. Hadn’t gotten his hands on an Aston Martin before. Likely a gorgeous machine like this was outside his skill set.
Damn, Derek wanted to get under the hood and find out.
Sterling’s amused voice broke in. “You want me to leave you and the car alone for some quality time?”
“Probably not a good idea. Can’t promise I’d behave myself.”
He laughed. “I’m not here about my car, but if you want to give her a thorough going-over, be my guest.” He tossed his keyring at Derek, who snatched it out of the air and stared at it blankly. “The problem seems to be between you and me.”
“I don’t have a problem with you, Sterling.”
“Then the hostility is because of…?”
Derek clenched his jaw. “All right. You want to know?”
“I would, yes.”
“Jenny,” Derek said, and left it at that.
Sterling looked at him, turned to look over his shoulder as if expecting to see Jenny there, then turned back to Derek. “Gonna need a little more.”
“Okay. I get that you guys have your own relationship, and I’m not dumb enough to tell her who she can and can’t have in her life. It was good of you to come running to Jenny’s aid, but she doesn’t need you anymore. She has me.”
“Huh,” Sterling said. “I’m aware that she has you. I know what’s going on between the two of you, and congratulations, been rooting for you. Regardless, Jenny did need me. She called and told me so. If she ever needs me, I’ll come running. I always will. You being with her won’t change that, Derek.”
“Fair enough. So long as you’re clear that you lost your chance. If this was some big swoop in to save the day and get her back move, forget it.”
“It was a swoop in to save the day move. At least, it was a swoop in to watch my little firecracker squash her ex-husband move.” Sterling’s sharp green eyes glinted with challenge.
“She isn’t your firecracker,” Derek snapped.
“Oh, but she is. Always will be.”
“She’s with me. She chose me. Not to sneak into her house at night for a hookup.”
“Okay.”
“Not to have a secret affair with.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“For good. You don’t get to have Jenny again.”
Sterling rocked back on his heels with an enormous grin. “Have her?” he said. “You mean sexually?”
“Yes, I mean sexually.”
“I have never had and will never have Jenny Finley sexually. I have her in my life. I have her as a friend. Sexually?” He shook his head. “Jenny isn’t my type. My type is five feet and six inches of awkward, who also happens to be pregnant with my child, and married to me.”
“You’re married?”
Sterling held up his left hand and proudly pointed at the ring Derek hadn’t noticed until now. Because, you know. He was a guy.
“You mean you never… You and Jenny never…?”
“No. Jenny Finley is the sister of my heart. Sister. I’m a pervert, but I ain’t that perverted.”
Derek eyed him. “You were never even tempted?”
“Did you not hear me when I said sister?”
“You two never even kissed?”
“If I didn’t know from the background check I ran on you that you are an only child, Tate, I’d be worried. No kissing.”
“I don’t get it. Why would she…?” Derek clasped the back of his neck and stared at the ceiling. He groaned. “Son of a bitch. I fell for it.”
“Did she tell you we were together?” Sterling asked.
Derek nodded, and Sterling’s laughter filled the garage.
“Goddammit,” Derek said. “She told me you two were hooking up on the quiet. A secret affair.”
“That explains your less-than-friendly attitude. Hah. This is funny, awkward, and yet at the same time, surprisingly convenient.”
Derek looked at him in wordless question.
“Funny,” Sterling said, “because she played you. Kate is the spit of her mother, and you’re the man who gets to parent that girl through adolescence. Good luck with that. Awkward, because you think I had your woman, and I didn’t, but I do own your garage. And convenient because, hey. Wedding present.”
Derek blew out a hard breath. “Oh, you asshole. You? You’re the buyer?”
“I am the buyer. I like Emerson. I’ve been looking to invest in property here for a while.” Sterling turned and made a frame out of his hands as he squinted at the back wall. “I’m thinking about turning it into a coffee shop. Hardwood floors. Tables over there. What d’you think, a little bookstore area? If not books, something cute. Like yarn. Nora’s cousin, Anna, is an interior designer. I’ll get her to come up, take a look.”
“A coffee shop,” Derek repeated.
“Yes. Is there room in town for one more? Megan’s is good. But it’s always been a fantasy of mine.”
“To own a coffee shop.”
“Yes.”
“In Emerson.”
“Well, not always in Emerson, I didn’t know Emerson existed until Alex moved back here a couple of years ago. When this place came up for sale and I was alerted to the opportunity, I thought oh, why not?”
“No,” Derek said.
“No?”
“You are not turning my garage into a coffee shop.”
“Wedding present it is. I don’t think Megan would have been pleased with the competition, anyway.”
“You are not giving me my own garage as a wedding present, I don’t know you that well. I don’t know anyone well enough that I would accept a present that big from them. I’m including my parents!”
“You’ll get to know me.”
“I don’t think I want to.”
“Tough. Jenny’s the sister of my heart. Makes you a brother. Can’t stop this, man. You’re marrying into my family. So, do you want a bow on it, or do you want to sign the papers and we’ll go celebrate with a beer?”
“It’s nine o’clock in the morning, I’m not going for a beer at nine o’clock in the morning.”
“So, a bow?”
“No bow. No beer. And I don’t want your charity.”
“It’s pronounced ‘present’.”
“Gabe, for the love of God…” Derek sputtered. He couldn’t give Derek the garage. It was insane.
Gabe leaned against his car. “You know the most frustrating thing about being a billionaire?”
“Having to wear a suit?”
“That’s the second most frustrating thing. The first is how fucking hard it is to get the people you care about to accept a gift.”
“Happy to take the beer. Later. At the appropriate time for drinking alcohol. I cannot take a building from you.”
“Eh, it was worth a shot. I didn’t think you’d go for it.” Gabe reached in through the Aston Martin’s open window and pulled out a manila folder. He strolled across the distance between them. “I was serious about investing in property, though. Here.”
“What’s this?”
“Rental agreement.”
Derek took the folder reluctantly. He examined Gabe’s face.
Gabe held his gaze. “It’s only a big deal if you make it one. I’m your new landlord. That’s all.”
Derek flipped through the document. Whether it was the night of passion with Jenny or the fact a billionaire tried to give him a building, he couldn’t make sense of it. “It’s a trap,” he said.
“Why would I want to trap you?”
“I haven’t worked that out yet, and it’s making me very nervous.”
Gabe clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s not a trap. It’s a standard rental agreement. You’ll find that the terms are the same as you had with Rawlings.” Registering that Derek was still uncomfortable, Gabe continued, “Is it any different paying me than paying the bank, if you’d gotten the loan? Or paying rent to any other landlord?”
“Suppose not.” Derek tapped the spine of the folder against his thigh. “If you and Jenny had been a thing, then, yeah. Since you were never together, you’re no longer Jenny’s billionaire ex-boyfriend. You’re just an everyday run-of-the-mill billionaire.”
“Run-of-the-mill sounds almost as bad as average.” Gabe shuddered. “I prefer unconventional.”
“Don’t you rich folk call yourselves eccentric?”
“No, that’s what you poor folk call us. We call ourselves whatever we like. I like unconventional.”
Derek laughed. Then something Gabe had said earlier sank in. “Wait. Background check?”
“Ah. Hoped I’d slipped that one by you.”
“You ran a background check on me?”
“How else do you think I found out your ex-landlord was selling your premises out from under you?”
“I don’t know. Lila, I guess? She’s the only one who knew, and as it turns out, she’s not very good at keeping secrets.”
“Lila played you, too, did she?”
“I’m starting to think it’s not as hard as my male ego would like.”
“It wasn’t Lila.” Gabe took out a cell phone, swiped, then passed it to him.
Derek accepted it gingerly. Damn thing looked more expensive than his Triumph. He looked at the screen, and blinked.
It was a photo from the day he drove Jenny and Kate to school. They were in the parking lot. Derek was smiling down at Kate, who had her arms around his waist and was leaning back to smile up at him. The connection between them was clear. Guilt dug into Derek like a blunt knife.
When the photo was taken, Kate hadn’t seen him for six months. He sure as shit hadn’t deserved the way she’d looked up at him, with such open trust. Going forward, he vowed, he would deserve it. Every single day.
“Cute photo,” Gabe said.
“Yeah.” Derek’s voice was gruff.
“I gave her the backpack.”
“I got her there.” Derek stared at the photo a moment longer, then his head snapped up and he glared.
Gabe smiled. “What now?”
He thrust out the phone. “Have you been spying on me?”
“Paranoid.”
“Why do you have a photo of me on your phone, Sterling? Either you’ve got someone following Jenny or someone following me. Not cool.”
“Elle sent it. More likely than me having you followed, isn’t it?”
Oh. “Yeah.”
“Don’t get hung up on the background check.” Gabe brushed this off with a dismissive wave. “I do it to everyone.”
“Now who’s paranoid?”
“It’s not paranoia. I’m a curious man, and apparently I have a problem with boundaries.”
Derek eyed him. “You don’t say.”
“Jenny’s important. She matters. She deserves the best. Kate, too. I have resources. I saw the picture. Anyone with half a brain can see where you all are headed. I did what any big brother would do. Asked around to see if there are any red flags.”
“And?”
“Apart from being declined for a loan and about to lose your garage, no flags at all, Tate. You’re a choirboy. With a cock piercing.”
* * * *
Jenny stood in front of the garage bay door alongside Lila. Jenny was holding the tray of coffees, Lila had the muffins.
As Jenny watched, Derek laughed at whatever Gabe had said. Gabe joined in. They shook hands, and followed it up with a bro hug.
Jenny’s stomach dropped. She’d have been less surprised if they’d started rolling around on the floor trading punches.
“We should run,” Jenny said to Lila. “Right? Whatever they’re talking about can’t be good. Can it?”
“Kiss him,” Lila whispered.
“I will in a minute.”
“I’m talking to Derek.”
“Come on, quick. Before they… Oops. Too late.”
Derek and Gabe had turned to stand, shoulder to shoulder, and were looking at her.
“Hi, guys.” Tamping down her nerves, Jenny straightened her spine and sauntered across the forecourt. “Who wants coffee?” She took one of the cups from the tray before Gabe, the rabid caffeine fiend, could knock her over, and handed it to him. “Here you go.” She handed the one she’d picked up for herself to Derek.
“Thanks,” he said.
“You’re welcome. No problem. Hi. What’s going on?”
Derek gave a dark laugh. “Clarity. Clarity is what’s going on.”
Nope, things were not looking good. “Can I interest you in a muffin?”
“Not if it’s chocolate.”
“Blueberry.” She held it out to him. Derek accepted the muffin, took the folder he had tucked under his arm out and slapped it lightly against Lila’s chest.
Lila jumped and grabbed it.
“Check that out for me, will you?” he asked. “No offense,” he said to Gabe. “Due diligence.”
Gabe shrugged as Lila said, “Ooh,” and opened the folder up with excitement. Whatever she read made her eyes grow big, and dart between Derek and Gabe.
“Jenny?” Derek hooked her elbow. “With me, please.”
“Wait,” Gabe called after them.
Derek turned back impatiently.
Gabe grinned. “My keys? I’m heading back to San Francisco. Unless you want to hang on to the car, have a little slap and tickle? You’re very welcome to. I’ll steal Alex’s truck. He’ll never notice.”
Derek was tempted, but he might never give it back “Here.” He dug the keyring out of his pocket and walked it over, taking Jenny with him.
“Gabe, you’re leaving already?” Jenny said. “I didn’t get to thank you properly for Bill. I didn’t get to thank Bill properly.”
“Forget it. Come and stay with us before Nora has the baby, and bring me a bag of Megan’s house blend with you. Woman refuses to ship me any.”
“Will do.” She went to hug Gabe as usual, then remembered Derek and stiffened. She stuck out a hand instead.
Gabe laughed and hauled her into a full-frontal hug, lifting her until she was dangling a foot off the ground. “I’ve missed you, lover,” he said. “Now. Kiss me goodbye. Make it wet.”
“Very funny.” Derek plucked Jenny from Gabe’s arms and dragged her into his side.
“I’ll kiss you goodbye,” Lila said to Gabe, still flipping through the file. She looked up at him with a smile full of teeth. “Once we’ve cleared up this little point right here, that is.”
“Which point?” Gabe scowled and leaned over her shoulder to read where she was tapping her finger.
Leaving them to it, Derek towed Jenny after him. She ran to keep up, and as soon as he’d shoved her into the office, she opened her mouth to defend whatever stupid game Gabe was playing.
She never got the chance.
Derek backed her into the door and braced a hand either side of her head.
She took hold of his hard waist. “I have no idea what that whole kissing crap was about—” she began.
To her astonishment, Derek brushed it off. “That was for my benefit,” he said. “Your buddy’s a douche.”
“Hey!” She smacked him. “No one talks about Gabe like that!” Everyone talked about Gabe like that, but Jenny wouldn’t hear it.
“He’s a douche. He does it on purpose. Deep down, though, I can tell he’s a good guy. I can totally see how you’d fall for someone like him. How you’d end up inviting him into your bed. Sneaking around. Seizing the opportunity to have a wild affair. To experience your moment of passion in the blazing sun of his billionaire attention.” Derek ducked his head and nibbled on her lips.
Jenny arched away, narrowing her eyes. “You know.”
“Oh, yeah, baby. I know.”
“I don’t,” someone else said in a gruff voice, “and I don’t want to. If y’all will be kind enough to step aside, I’ll get out of your hair.”
Jenny screamed and Derek flinched as Burke stood up from his seat behind the desk.
“When did you get here?” Derek demanded.
“About ten minutes ago.”
“Why are you hiding…? Oh. Right.” Derek shuffled Jenny aside, opened the door and glanced out, then said to Burke, “She’s busy arguing. Make a break for it.”
Avoiding Jenny’s gaze, the big man sidled out through the door and disappeared into the gloom at the back of the garage.
Derek closed the door behind him and gave the office a thorough scan before taking up his original position. “Where were we? Here?” He kissed her neck.
“What was that about?” Jenny asked.
Derek slid a leg between hers. “Burke? He’s scared of Lila.”
“Has he even met Lila?”
“No. He’s trying not to. I think he’s got a bit of a crush.”
“Aww.”
“Jenny.”
“Admit it, you think that’s sweet, too.”
“I think it’s adorable. I also think you played me.”
She tugged her lower lip between her teeth. “In my defense, telling you I was sleeping with Gabe was a spur-of-the-moment thing. It wasn’t well thought out.”
“Not like your genius plan to borrow his lawyer and bluff Dean. Not like that plan.”
“Hard to believe, but no, it was not even as good as that plan. So, you know we never had an affair?”
“I know.”
“He told you?”
“Yes.”
She smoothed her hands around to his back and tucked them under his waistband. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do. I woke up and you were there. I wanted you to stay there so much Derek, and I couldn’t handle it. It was too perfect. Everything about you is too perfect.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
She pinched his lips together, stopping his words. “You are, and I’m not listening to any arguments. You’re perfect for me. And it takes a lot of getting used to, you know?”
“Mmmph mmph?” What does?
“Getting what you want. I woke up in bed with you, it was perfect, and it scared the shit out of me. It was too soon. And then, as time went on, I got used to the idea of it, and you would barely even look at me. I missed you.” She caught his face between her hands and kissed him fiercely. “I missed you, and if my stupid car hadn’t choked when it did, I’d have stuck a screwdriver in the back tire, and called you myself.
“I wouldn’t have done it on Kate’s first day of kindergarten, though. I’d have chosen a good day. Blocked out a morning. I don’t think I could have ignored it for much longer.”
“What if I hadn’t come? What if I’d sent Burke with the tow truck?”
“I’d have tried it again.”
“Or, you could have called me without stabbing your car. Any time in the past two years, Jenny. You could have called me any time, and I would have come.”
She sighed. Derek’s dimples flickered in his cheeks. Jenny cupped his face, stuck the tip of one forefinger in one dimple, then inserted the other into his other dimple.
“Stop fingering my dimples,” he said.
“Make me.”
Derek caught her wrists, transferred them to one hand and stretched them over her head.
“It has come to my attention, Tate,” she said, “that you seem to like holding me down. I’m starting to think you have a kinky side.”
Derek gave a delicious, dirty laugh. “Starting to? The cock piercing didn’t tip you off?”
“It should have, shouldn’t it?”
He nodded.
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want your apology, baby. All I ever wanted was for you to choose me. And you did.”
“I did. I do. I always will.” She pulled at her wrists until he freed them, and went to frame his face again.
He jerked his head back. “I’m serious. Don’t finger my dimples.”
“I’m not fingering… Derek, come here. I’m not going to touch your dimples. I’m being romantic. I was trying to be romantic. You ruined it.”
Derek picked up her hands and placed them on his cheeks, rough with stubble and bunched with a broad smile. “Try again.”
“Okay. I did choose you. I do choose you. I always will choose you. And I would like to marry you and make a family with you. I’m ready for anything you want to give me.”
“Mmm.”
She ignored the pulse of arousal that threatened to derail her at the look in his eyes, and continued before she lost her thread again, “Any time you want to ask, you go ahead.”
“Are you proposing to me?”
“No.”
“Sure sounded like it.”
“I’m proposing that you propose.”
“All right. I’ll take it under advisement.” He bent and murmured against her lips, “Did you have a particular timeframe in mind?”
“Sometime this century,” Jenny said. She gasped when his tongue dipped in for a swift, teasing stroke. “Other than that, I’m wide open.”
Derek grinned. “Good to know.”
She’d intended the comment as a flippant joke, only it came out as her deepest truth.
Jenny was wide open to this man in every possible way. His patience, persistence and determination had broken down every barrier between them, left her nowhere to hide.
She had no walls left, nothing to protect her.
Derek’s grin faded. “What is it?” he asked, drawing her closer.
She shook her head.
“Jenny—”
The foundations of her world had changed and she should be terrified, but she wasn’t. She just wasn’t. She picked up his warm hand and placed it on her chest, holding it there with an almost painful pressure.
“What is it?” He shifted against her. “Jenny. Look at me.”
She did. She let him see the truth in her eyes, and she could tell the moment it sank in.
The hand on her chest swept up to her throat and curled around her nape. He pulled her roughly up onto her toes to meet him for a passionate, consuming kiss that finished with his laughter rumbling through her.
“I love you, Derek,” she said, and held on tight.