CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

 

The sight of his smile did something to me every single time.

Curtis looked up when I paused in the doorway of the small room we called the workshop and his grin was immediate.  My breath caught in my chest.  He was gorgeous, he was incredible and I was so completely in love with him. 

“What do you think?” he asked, holding up a brilliantly embellished women’s tank top.  The Scratch logo my dad had designed was prominently centered and showed up beautifully on the black material while rhinestones dotted the neckline.  It was definitely a little loud for my tastes but there was already a big demand for the shirts so my dad and Curtis had been working on different designs.  College kids who didn’t even have any ink had started coming in all the time in search of the shirts because it seemed like a local trend had been kicked off. 

“I like it,” I said, closing the door to the workshop behind me. 

Curtis’s expression changed and my heart pounded as his eyes swept over me.  “Maybe you should try it on.” 

I looked down.  “But I’m already wearing one of your shirts.” 

He leaned back in his chair a little and I saw his hand brush across the front of his pants.  “I won’t complain if you take it off.”   

The door didn’t have a lock on it.  I took a second to listen for the sound of anyone approaching but all I heard were distant echoes.  Over the past two weeks Curtis and I had been pretty faithful to our own rule of not fooling around while at work but sometimes when he looked at me the way he was looking at me now my legs felt weak and I forgot all about rules. 

Curtis kept his eyes on me as I slowly pulled my shirt off.  The bra I wore underneath was black lace and I saw him swallow hard. 

“Throw it,” I said, holding my hand out to catch the new shirt. 

“I have a better idea,” Curtis said, hopping off the workbench and closing the short distance between us. “You know how hard it is to keep my mind on work today?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me. 

I smiled sweetly and let my hand travel low, cupping him in my hand.  “No, how hard is it?” 

Curtis looked at me seriously.  “Say it again.”

“Hard.” 

“Wiseass.  You know what I mean.” 

I did.  I slipped my arms up around his shoulders and stared up into his eyes.  “I love you.”

He pressed his forehead to mine.  “I love you too, baby.” 

I said the words first. This morning we were the first ones to pull into the Scratch parking lot and I had a sudden flashback of the first time I encountered Curtis Mulligan. It happened right there.  But in that moment he was just some sullen hot stranger who I’d never see again.  That wasn’t so long ago, less than the length of a season.  Yet in terms of the heart it was ancient history.

There were no doubts. I loved him and I told him so. He said nothing at first, then he exited the car, walked around to the passenger side, pulled me out and while our arms were wrapped around each other he told me he loved me too.  We probably would have stood there making out for the next hour if Uncle Deck hadn’t pulled into the spot beside us and glared behind his sunglasses.

“I should get back to the front desk,” I said as Curtis started kissing my neck.  But even as I said it I was angling to give him better access. 

“You can’t,” he said, breaking away and looking down at me solemnly. 

“I can’t?” 

He shook his head.  “No.  Look at you.  You’re not dressed properly.”  He unhooked my bra with an expert flick of the wrist.  “Look at that.  Now you’re practically naked.” 

“If only somebody would give me a shirt,” I giggled, then had to stifle a moan because his mouth had found my right nipple. My back was against the door now and Curtis wasn’t content to play with one nipple.  He wanted the other one.  Then he wanted to get on his knees, run his tongue over my belly, pull my skirt down and torment me with his tongue while I moved eagerly against his mouth. 

Then all the fun came to a screeching halt because someone was trying to open the door to the workshop. 

“What the hell? Is something blocking the door?” 

I breathed a small sigh of relief because it was only Freya but there was still the problem of my nudity to solve.  Curtis helped me hook my bra and handed me the shirt after I pulled up my skirt to a decent position. 

Freya raised an eyebrow when we finally opened the door but she also smiled. My father would not have been so amused.  It went without saying that we were expected to refrain from having sex in the workplace. 

“You’re a bad influence,” I whispered to Curtis when Freya was gone. 

He grinned.  “I think you love being badly influenced.” 

I kissed his cheek.  “I love you.” 

“Then have lunch with me in a little while.” 

“Okay. I guess I can ask Freya to take the front desk for half an hour.” 

“Just enough time to run out and grab some burritos from the gas station.” 

I made a face. “Can’t we opt for hamburgers instead?” 

He winked.  “Whatever you say, princess.” 

“Are you trying to provoke me, Mulligan?” 

“Of course.” 

I stuck my tongue out and then left the room.  I got about two steps before I noticed my father was standing ten feet away outside his office.  He had his arms crossed and a stern look on his face. 

“Hi, Dad,” I said brightly.  “I was just, um, checking on something and…”

He held up a hand. “I don’t want to know,” he said.  “But you told me earlier you wanted to talk when I had a moment.  Now I have a moment.”   He gestured to his office.  “So come on in.” 

He was surprised by what I had to say.  I assured him I still planned to accept the offer of admission I’d just received from ASU.  But when I wasn’t taking classes I would very much like to remain on staff here at Scratch.  It wasn’t just because I wanted to be close to Curtis. I liked being here.  I liked working with family.  This felt like the place where I belonged. 

“If you say yes,” I told him, “I’ll call the bookstore today and let them know I won’t be coming back.” 

He was amused.  “Do you really think there’s a chance in hell I’m going to say no?” 

It was nice to hear him say that but I didn’t want him to think he owed me any special favors. “I promise I’ll always pull my weight here and work hard no matter what you decide to throw my way.” 

My dad smiled. “Of course you will.  You’re my daughter.” 

I smiled back.  “Thanks, Dad.” 

I got up to leave but he called me back before I reached the door.

“Cassie, one more thing,” he said.  “Don’t make me see anything that’s going to give me more gray hair than I already have.  You get my meaning?” 

“I do,” I said, blushing. 

My dad raised an eyebrow. “That boy treats you like a queen, doesn’t he?” 

“Yes, Daddy.  He does.” 

He nodded.  “Good. That’s as it should be.” 

When Curtis returned with a bag of hamburgers we sat down in the break room together. 

“Anymore updates on your mom?” I asked as I squirted ketchup on my fries. A few days after Renee Mulligan made a promise to her eldest son she turned herself in at the United States border.  The story was all over the local media; fugitive returns to face fraud trial.  She’d obviously proved she was a flight risk so she was sitting in a jail cell while the legal details were worked out. 

“Nothing new that I’ve heard,” Curtis said, frowning.  “She’ll plead guilty so there won’t be a trial.  As far as sentencing goes, we’ll have to wait and see.” 

“Brecken’s been asking when he can visit her.” 

“I know.  Soon I hope.” 

I reached for his hand.  “I hope so too.” 

He threaded his fingers through mine and kissed my hand.  We’d had more than our fair share of legal drama over the past few weeks.  Not only had Curtis’s mother returned but the whole Parker Neely horror show was nearing a swift conclusion.  He was pleading no contest to the assault charges, meaning he wouldn’t admit guilt but wouldn’t deny it either.  The judge would likely offer him probation since he had a fancy lawyer and it was his first offense on the record but I was still glad I’d pressed charges.  Cami had urged the newspaper to run several short articles on the case.  Plus Debra had told me the news was all over social media among the old high school crowd and this time people definitely weren’t on his side.  The more information was out there about Parker Neely the higher the likelihood that the next girl wouldn’t make the mistake of trusting him. 

Parker wrote me a letter even though he’d been ordered to have no contact with me.  I tore it up without reading it.  I wasn’t interested in his phony apologies anymore.  I knew what he was and I knew he’d never change. 

Curtis was watching me.  “What are you thinking?” he asked gently. 

I pushed aside all thoughts of Parker Neely.  “I’m thinking maybe we should take Brecken out to Game and Grill tonight.” 

“You want to spend the evening listening to video games beep while eating greasy chicken wings?”

“Absolutely.” 

“Then it’s a plan.” 

I unlaced our hands and seductively ran my fingertip along his pulse point. “And afterwards we can make some different plans.”   

Curtis was interested.  “Tell me what you had in mind.” 

“I’ll send you some dirty texts when I return to my desk.”

“Don’t hold back on details.” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be very explicit.” 

He let out a low groan.  “I can’t wait.”

I remembered something.  “Oh, remind me to grab some more clothes when we stop by my folks’ house to pick up Brecken.” 

In fact half my wardrobe had already landed at Curtis’s apartment over the past few weeks.  I was serious when I told him yesterday that I’d been spending so much time there that I ought to chip in for rent.  I wasn’t trying to take over his apartment but I knew he didn’t have a lot of wiggle room where money was concerned and since I was taking up space there all the time it seemed I should help. Curtis refused to take a dime from me though. I understood it was a point of pride with him so I didn’t push the issue.   

“Now what are you thinking?” I asked after he was quiet for a few minutes and I saw how he kept watching me.  

Curtis swallowed the bite of hamburger he was chewing.  His expression was serious now.  “I was thinking that I’ll never get tired of looking at you, of being with you, of hearing every word you say.” 

He wasn’t shy about giving me compliments.  Curtis was always telling me how beautiful I was, how lucky he felt.  I never doubted that he meant the things he said.  But right now he’d caught me off guard so I blushed. 

“Sometimes you leave me at a loss for words, Curtis Mulligan.” 

Curtis leaned forward across the table.  “You know I only want to hear one thing.”  He reached out and lightly traced my lips. 

“Say it, Cassidy,” he whispered. 

I said it.  Loud and clear. 

“I love you.”