Shit Kickers & Stilettos (Heiresses In Aprons) (6 page)

Dade had two thoughts running through his head as sat in his office and tried to get some work done. First, the one that he couldn’t get out of his head was that Rosie hadn’t been wearing a bra. She’d been in her pjs so he wouldn’t think she would be, but he also hadn’t thought he’d be palming her round firm breasts either. With just the thin material of her T-shirt between them he’d felt the way she reacted to his touch, just before she’d tensed up in that instance of panic.

He’d felt it too.
That moment when the contact was too intimate, yet not enough at the same time. Wanting more. Needing to end the feeling before it went any further. Doing the right thing had never been harder. With the way she tore out of the house not long after the incident he didn’t have to wonder if Rosie was as flustered as he felt. Still she could have at least given him a chance to apologize.

That brought him to the second thought, which was more of a question. Was she going to run every time they ran into a
problem? For any two people getting to know each other they were going to have a few rough spots. He really hoped that she wasn’t the type to run at the slightest snag, because he wasn’t the type to hold back to keep the peace.

If something bothered him he’d say so. He expected her to do the same. Six months was too long to be walking on eggshells. Tiptoeing around each other wasn’t his idea of the best way to start a relationship, even if it was just business. Since Teddy wanted them to be more than associates they were going to have to be honest and put themselves on the line to make things work.

A door slammed somewhere and Dade got to his feet. It was about damn time she got back. Seriously where the hell could she have gone for three hours? He got up and walked to the office window. Rosie was leaning into the trunk of her car. The colorful flirty short skirt she wore barely covered her ass. Dade swallowed hard as he let his gaze roam over her. Slowly he moved down her thighs to her shapely calves ending at her ankles and another pair of those damn shoes.

She pulled out a shiny red bag with a fancy logo on it. Shopping he should’ve guessed. She leaned back into the trunk, but came out empty handed. He watched as she lowered the bag and carefully set it on the ground. Rosie lifted one leg and put her knee on the bumper and stretched further into the car. What the hell! Was she going to climb in to get what she wanted? Dade wasn’t about to let her get hurt on his watch. He didn’t run, but he moved damn quickly.

“Are you trying to hurt yourself?” Dade grabbed her by her hips and lifted her off the car.

She gasped as he set her on her feet. “No. I was doing just fine you know.”

“Yeah, I could see that.” He turned to the car expecting to find bags from the local boutiques and
shops, instead there were bags of groceries. “Not happy with what I chose?”

“We’re having company for dinner tonight.” She picked up the bag from the ground and held out her arm for one of the three in the trunk.

He handed it to her and grabbed the others. “We?”

“I was hoping you’d join me and my friends. They need to see everything is okay here so that they won’t worry too much about me.” She headed for the house and he followed.

“Is everything okay?” He wasn’t so sure.

“We’ve gotten off to a rocky start, but I’m sure things will get easier. Especially now that the entire world thinks we’re a couple in
love.” The smile she flashed his way made him hope she was right.

He put the bags on the counter and stepped out of her way as she began to unpack them. “I never said anything about love. People can live together without being in anything more than like.”

“I’ve done my best to keep from being linked to anyone so since you’ve broken my streak love will probably be the word getting tossed around. I was thinking we could just call and demand a retraction—”

Dade didn’t let her finish that thought. “No we can’t. It would lead to questions about why we’re living together, and we can’t answer them. We’ll have to let this play out for a little while.”

“If you had let me finish I was about to tell you that I came to the same conclusion.”

“Oh.” He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Nope. Just go back to doing whatever you were doing while I was gone.” She shooed him out of the room and not wanting to make waves he went.

He didn’t get far when he heard soft sultry music start to drift down the hall. Dade snuck back to the doorway. He watched Rosie for a few minutes. She’d put on a black and pink polka dotted apron. She danced and swayed as she unloaded the bags. With a twirl she went to the fridge took some stuff out and added it to her piles on the counter. Dade smiled realizing he was seeing another part of her. One he wouldn’t have seen if they hadn’t agreed to Teddy’s request. Teddy had told Dade she cooked for him when she visited, but he hadn’t said she enjoyed doing it.

Dade had thought it was just her being nice to her old uncle. Obviously he was wrong. He turned and headed back to the office. Teddy hadn’t bragged about it the way he did all her other accomplishments, so there was a chance that even though she enjoyed it didn’t mean she was good at it.

Dade knew he should get some work done only he was more interested in being prepared to meet her best friends. He decided it was time to check them out, just like they had probably already done with him. It was hard for him to get information about them. Sophia’s father owned a media empire. Print, TV, and radio he had a finger in everything. Nicolette’s family owned a beauty conglomerate. Tiffany was what some people would call nouveau riche. Their wealth had been accumulated over the past few decades.

Dade didn’t believe half of what he read, but he felt a little better knowing something of their backgrounds. It didn’t take him long to realize her friends weren’t coming to the house just for dinner. If he had to guess this visit was some sort of strategy session. He wondered if he was going to be allowed to
sit in on it, or if they’d try to find some way to get rid of him.

Dade wasn’t willingly going to let that happen, but he knew he couldn’t put up too much of a fight either. He’d love to use the time to dig deeper into Rosie’s background, see what her friends were keen to tell him. He stewed in his office as long as he could before the amazing smell coming from the kitchen drew him out. His mouth was already watering and he didn’t even know what she was making. Whatever it was he hoped it would taste as good as it smelled. Before Dade reached the kitchen he heard the mixture of feminine laughter drifting down the hall.

“Dade,” Rosie walked over the wrapped her arm around his and led him into the room. “I was just about to come and get you.”

“Ladies.”
He said in greeting as he sat in the chair Rosie gently shoved him into at the small kitchen table and smiled up at her. “What smells so great?”

“
Mmm… lasagna,” Sophia said.

Tiffany shook her head. “It’s the cheesy garlic bread.”

“All I smell is chocolate. Can we have dessert first?” Nicolette asked.

“No,” the three other women said.

Dade got the feeling he wasn’t seeing the polished facades Rosie and her friends showed the world. Their playful banter seemed way too genuine to be faked for his benefit alone. Dade was more than willing to sit back and let them be themselves. He was honored that they were willing to let him in. Especially after the mess he’d already created. Rosie brought platters of food to the table. She put the lasagna in the center of the table and he found himself moaning right along with her friends. Damn it looked as good as it smelled. She walked away and returned with a big salad she put on one side and garlic bread she put on the other.

Dade kept his mouth shut while they loaded their plates and discussed what Rosie should do about Walt. They all agreed
that a small dose of revenge was due. Dade wouldn’t mind delivering a physical dose of punishment, but he knew it would only make things worse. He was going to have to let Rosie decided exactly what they were going to do and go along with it. After all this was her field of expertise. She’d been dealing with this crap her whole life.

If he hoped to become a part of her life, even just as a friend, he needed to learn the rules. There was no one better to teach him the ropes than the woman herself.

Dade loaded his fork with a chunk of steaming lasagna and lifted it in front of his mouth. He gently blew on it before sliding it into his mouth. The tang of the sauce hit him first, but mixed with the meat and cheese added to the flavor and texture. He closed his eyes and sighed as he swallowed. God, it was the best thing he’d ever tasted.

“You like it?” Rosie asked.

“Like?”
Couldn’t she tell just be looking at him that he loved it. “That is an understatement.”

“Complements should really go to Nicolette’s grandmother, it’s her recipe.”

“Hers is amazing too,” Nicolette said with a smile. “But your version has something special.”

They ate and laughed. Rosie’s friends held nothing back even though he was a perfect stranger to them. Dade was surprised to learn that Tiffany had
an affection for animals big and small. Rosie explained that the rest of her family was allergic to most animals people had as pets, so she never got to have one growing up. Though he assumed Rosie had already done it he extended an invitation to come and enjoy their stables whenever she wanted. He promised to leave word with the stable manager to give her whatever she wanted. Sophia teased warning him that she’d probably move in.

Rosie and the girls started discussing their schedules for the next few weeks. A lot of their appointments were covered by at least two of them, if not all. Dade listened and when they asked him what he had on his plate he jokingly said nothing and helped himself to more food. The entire meal was amazing, company and all. He’d never had thought he’d feel so comfortable being surrounded by four wealthy gorgeous women. Whoever was lucky enough to catch one of them better hold on tight, or he was a damn fool.

“If you can handle it I’d like you to squeeze me into your schedule.” His comment caused an instant silence to settle over the room.

“For what exactly?”
Sophia asked before anyone else could.

“Well, I’ve seen a few glimpses into your world and it’s only fair that you see mine.” He gave a shrug trying to make it seem like it was no big deal, but to him it kind of was. “I’ve scheduled those meetings we discussed.”

“I guess you’re right. Teddy said that we should learn as much about each other’s roles in the business as possible.”

“So you’ll give me some time?”

“She will,” Sophia and Nicolette said in unison.

It took three attempts, but Rosie finally managed to spare some time to sit in on the meetings. They weren’t with the companies he originally chose, but Dade was okay with that.
Mostly because he’d worked in a meeting with her uncle’s pet project. He was glad he was going to be able to introduce her to the owners. Dade knew she wasn’t blowing him off on purpose. The cause of the delay was another big event coming up. This one was Nicolette’s baby, but they all chipped in and did their part to make it amazing. These four women were busier than some of the most committed executives he’d worked with.

She and Dade both agreed that in order for her to really be able to give Dade and the meetings her full attention she needed to clear a day on her schedule. Today was that day. She’d given a perfunctory knock as she walked into the office. Dade looked up at her and had almost choked on the bite of muffin he’d just taken. Her light pink T-shirt was almost sheer and he could see the pink bra, just a shade darker, that she wore under it. She turned her back on him to set the folders she had on the desk. Dade let his gaze coast down the length of her. The black jeans weren’t skin tight, but they’d clung to her curves.

The first meeting had gone well. It was a conference call and he’d given her the files to go over last night. This morning she had a few questions. They were damn good ones too. Dade
answered them and then they went over what he wanted to ask the group. He told her to jump in at any point.

Once the conference started he’d introduced her to everyone and it went by pretty quick. In the end they decided to invest a small amount, but if the company grew at the rate Dade expected they’d recoup that and much more. More than once Dade had gotten distracted by Rosie’s smile as she talked.

The next meeting hadn’t gone as well. It was with a company they had already invested in. Dade knew ahead of time he was going to be turning the request for more money down, unless they were given more control of the direction and staffing of the company. On the upside they wouldn’t be pulling out like some others who had lost faith in the management had.

It was why he had chosen to do this as a video conference instead of just an audio call. He figured it would be good for her to see that his job wasn’t always easy. This time though he told her not to say anything. Rosie was nervous. He could tell by the way she kept fidgeting in her chair she kept crossing and uncrossing her legs.

He couldn’t have her doing that during the call or he’d never make it through it. To make her stop he reached over and laid his hand, palm flat, on her thigh. She gasped and covered his hand with hers. Their gazes locked, but neither of them spoke. A deep chuckle came from the speaker on the desk beside his computer. He turned his attention from her to the screen. He didn’t take his hand away and she didn’t push it off her leg either.

Dade had made a quick switch from besotted fool back to business magnate if the blink of an eye. Or at least he tried to. Seeing the owner of the company flirt with Rosie —even though it had been totally innocent, and maybe all in Dade’s head— Dade had briefly reconsidered pulling their funding. He told himself he wouldn’t have done it, but he wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Lucky for the guy he’d jumped on Dade’s offer to help him find better management options, so he had one more chance with TC Corporation.

Dade and Rosie had a two hour break between meetings and she insisted on making them lunch and quickly fled the room. Dade gave her a few minutes then joined her in the kitchen. She was wearing another of the frilly aprons she liked. This one was black with a colorful cupcake and the words EAT ME embroidered on the bib. While she made turkey and bacon club sandwiches she asked why he’d offered to help the struggling company, when he’d been dead set against giving them money.

Dade explained that in his experience when some people saw a problem and they didn’t know how to fix it their basic instinct was to throw money at it and hope it got better. The thing was Dade knew this was one of those cases where money wouldn’t work. Truthfully in general he never thought it did. At best it usually turned out to be a temporary bandage. Rosie seemed to agree.

“This next meeting should go pretty smoothly.” He helped her clean their plates from the table.

She leaned her hip against the counter and waited for him to wash his hands. “From what I understood of the file you gave me it’s just a routine check in.”

He nodded. “The company sends me quarterly reports and they’ve been growing steadily, which is a good sign. We’re going to go over their plans for another small expansion. They’re not asking for anything.”

“You’re smiling,” she said.

He hadn’t realized it. “Was I?”

“Yup.”
She put her hands and on the counter behind her and hopped up onto it. “You should do it more often.”

“Really?”
He asked and she nodded.

“It makes you look a little less intimidating.”

“Maybe I like looking tough.” He hung the towel on the rack and walked over stopping in front of her knees. “Besides you and your friends don’t seem to be scared of me.”

She slid down from her perch. His body instantly reacted to her nearness, which
was just inches apart. For him it was a little too close for comfort in some areas, because one glance down and she’d see exactly what she did to him. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. One of them had to be the strong one and it turned out that whenever she got near him it wasn’t going to be him.

“I have no reason to be afraid of you. Neither do my friends.” She tilted her head and gave him one of her sexy little smiles.

She was right about her friends, but he wasn’t so sure about her. “I guess I’ll take your word for it.”

“Not mine,” Dade watched her hair sway from side to side as she shook her head.
“Teddy’s. He wouldn’t have gotten me mixed up in anything with you if he didn’t think I could trust you.”

God! She truly had no idea what her uncle was up too. Dade knew he should tell her, but the selfish part deep inside him begged him not to. Though he’d been against Teddy’s plan in the beginning he’d quickly come around to
, at least, entertaining the idea. It didn’t hurt that Rosie was more amazing than he could have wished. And now all he wished was that he could get her into his bed, or keep her in the kitchen until the six months was up.

He wasn’t ready to tell her that yet either. “We should head back to the office.”

This meeting was going to let Rosie in on a little known secret. He had purposefully held back what the small manufacturer made, but only because he wanted it to be a surprise. Dade hoped it would explain a little about him at the same time. Alaina Derringer and her husband Chuck came on the screen with big happy smiles. Dade made the introductions and as he hoped Rosie was stunned when she found out her uncle owned a big stake in a company that made cowboy boots. She claimed it answered a few questions she’d had.

Alaina gave them both her condolences on losing Teddy and surprised them with a small tribute. She had designed a pair of red and black boots called TC’s. They had the flash and style her uncle had always strived for. Dade could tell Rosie was touched from the tears that glistened in her eyes.

Still it took about twenty minutes for Rosie to slip back into her habits. The smiles and leg crossing were so damn distracting he kept losing his train of thought. Dade started to wonder if Rosie knew just what she was doing to him. He wouldn’t be able to prove it, but why else would she do things to irk him the way she did.